DEC        1924 


QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION  IN 
NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT  IN  THE 
GRADUATE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL 


BY 


CHARLES  JAMES  RITCHEY 


Private  Edition,  Distributed  By 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  LIBRARIES 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

1922 


EXCHANGE 


QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION  IN 
NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 


QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION  IN 
TESTAMENT  TIMES 


A  DISSERTATION 


SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT  IN  THE 
GRADUATE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL 


BY 
CHARLES  JAMES  RITCHEY 


Private  Edition,  Distributed  By 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  LIBRARIES 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

1922 


INTRODUCTION 


Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  present  the  salvation 
beliefs  of  the  New  Testament  or  of  its  individual  writers 
through  the  medium  of  New  Testjapnent  theologies  or  treatises 
dealing  with  the  teachings  of  selected  -authors.  The  prevailing 
tendency,  sometimes  contrary  to  the  expectations  and  desires 
of  tihe  investigators,  has  been  to  isolate  the  material  under  con- 
sideration or  at  least  to  relate  it  to  its  total  environment  only 
under  stress  of  necessity.  The  assumption  seems  to  hjave  been 
that  sufficient  data  were  available  to  enable  one  to  reconstruct 
in  terms  of  modern  thought,  or  at  least  in  terms  intelligible 
to  the  present  day,  the  doctrine  used  by  the  individual  in  ques- 
tion, on  the  basis  of  its  being  a  more  or  less  closed  system 
evolved  as  such  chiefly  in  the  mind  and  experience  of  the  one 
leader.  Hence  it  was  natural  to  seek  to  show  thiait  the  teach- 
ings were  logically  consistent.  Starting  with  such  assumptions 
as  these  and  actuated  by  a  desire  to  use  or  test  the  results  as 
normative,  as  correct,  as  authoritatve,  theologians  (have  not 
'found  it  impossible  to  discover  consistent,  well-wrought  sys- 
tems of  doctrine.  But  unfortunately  there  is  a  likelihood  of 
gaps  being  bridged  by  the  introduction  of  subjective  data,  in 
proportion  as  there  is  present  an  apologetic  interest  or  a  de- 
sire to  establish  a  norm  to  which  the  ancient  author  corre- 
sponds, if  indeed  the  norm  is  not  found  within  his  authorita- 
tive utterances. 

The  method  adopted  in  this  study  is  intended  to  obviate 
some  of  the  difficulties  which  repeatedly  arise  in  the  practice  of 
starting  with  the  material  to  be  investigated  as  in  any  way  self- 
explanatory.  That  is,  the  subject  of  New  Testament  soteriology 
can  not  be  studied  adequately  by  starting  with  the  New  Testa- 
ment records  as  containing  $  closed  system  capable  of  being  in- 
terpreted in  the  light  of  their  own  statements.  What  is  seen  is 


563M84 


a  quest  for  salvation  that  was  socially  conditioned,  and  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  determine  what  those  conditions  were  and 
the  use  made  of  them  in  furthering  the  quest.  That  solutions  of 
the  problem  of  salvation  in  the  form  o'f  systems  of  thought  were 
often  offered  by  early  Christians,  is  ia.t  once  obvious.  They  are, 
however,  most  intelligible  as  the  creation,  generally  temporary 
and  immediate,  of  earnest  seekers  after  salvation,  creations  made 
in  response  to  social  stimuli,  out  of  such  religious  interpretations 
as  were  at  hand.  Thus  Paul,  who  hjas  very  frequently  been  cred- 
ited with  having  given  a  doctrine  of  salvation  more  or  less  con- 
sistent, must  be  studied  ias  the  leading  representative  of  a  group 
of  Christians  who  came  out  of  primitive  Christianity  into  contact 
with  the  new  stimuli  in  the  Gentile  world,  and  sought  to  inter- 
pret the  religious  thought  which  they  already  possessed 
in  such  a  w/aiy  as  to  satisfy  those  new  needs  of  their  Hellenistic 
experience.  To  accomplish  this  task  of  interpreting  early  Chris- 
tian "  Theologies "  it  is  also  necessary  to  study  the  faiths  of  the 
Graeco-Roman  world  in  the  same  light,  as  quests  for  salvation. 

These  considerations  at  once  suggest  the  main  'outline  of  this 
study  as  it  appears  in  the  chapter  headings.  The  first  task  is  to 
show  the  intimate  relation  existing  between  the  religious  belie'fs 
of  a  people  and  the  social  conditions  which  limit  their  life,  in 
this  case,  with  particular  reference  to  -all  those  experiences  which 
are  capable  of  being  interpreted  in  terms  of  salvation.  Hebrew 
\and>  Jewish  beliefs,  as  the  source  from  wihich  Christianity  drew 
its  first  strength,  /are,  vtery  properly,  the  next  subject  of  enquiry. 
The  Graeco-Roman  quests  for  salvation  should  be  investigated 
with  no  presuppositions  as  to  the  degree,  if  any,  to  which  they 
affected  Christianity.  The  fact  that  such  ia  tfesult  was  possible 
is  sufficient  warrant  for  studying  them.  Christianity  itself,  as  a 
quest,  or  a  series  of  quests,  after  salvation,  ought  to  be  inter- 
preted as  disinterestedly  as  the  other  movements  with  which  it 
was  at  least  geographically  and  chronologically  associated.  The 
further  question  remains  of  determining  the  nature  of  the  rela- 
tionship, if  any,  which  existed  between  Christianity  and  the  other 
religions,  as  quests  for  salvation.  Certain  possibilities  must  be 


kept  in  mind  in  this  connection.  (1)  Genetic  relationship  may 
be  established  as  having  existed  at  a  givten  time  between  Chris- 
tianity and  other  religious  cults,  as  for  instance  between  Chris- 
tianity and  Judaism  or  the  mystery  religions.  (2)  Also  there 
may  hiave  been  a  functional  similarity  which  gave  rise  to  a  cer- 
tain outward  correspondence  between  the  different  religious 
movements,  but  without  genetic  relationships.  As  an  illustration 
attention  may  be  called  to  the  fact  that  separate  attempts  to 
solve  the  problem  of  the  future  life  were  made  by  groups  which 
were  not  dependent  upon  each  other  for  stimulus,  and  yet  the 
solutions  outwardly  suggest  common  origin.  And  (3)  as  a  final 
alternative,  there  arises  the  probability  that  neither  one  nor  the 
other  of  the  above  named  interpretations  can  be  posited  as  having 
been  present  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other  for  any  considerable 
period  of  time. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introduction    7 

CHAPTER 

I.     The  Basis  of  Salvation  Beliefs 11 

II.     Hebrew  and  Jewish  Quests  for  Salvation 23 

III.  Graeco-Roman  Quests  for  Salvation 42 

IV.  The  Primitive  Christian  Quest  for  Salvation 81 

V.     The  Jewish  Christian  Quest  in  a  Hellenistic  World . . .  103 

VI.     The  Transformed  Quest  of  Hellenistic  Christianity  136 

Conclusion     153 

Notes  157 


10 


QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION  IN 
NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  BASTS  OF  SALVATION  BELIEFS. 

Salvation,  as  a  definite  doctrine  and  as  a  general  idea,  has 
many  forms.  The  wide  use  of  the  word  "  salvation ",  or  its  equi- 
valents in  the  various  languages,  shows  to  some  extent  the 
universality  of  the  idea  therein  expressed.  But  the  use  of  fixed 
terms,  however  important  it  ariay  seem,  is  quite  inadequate  to 
interpret  the  real  thought  of  •&  people.  An  understanding  of  the 
social  forces  which  mold  the  thought-forms  and  of  the  responses 
which  men  make  to  them,  is  essential  to  an  appreciation  of  the 
content  and  bearing  of  the  salvation  belief,  as  in  the  case  of  any 
other. 

Salvation,  as  the  commonly  accepted  doctrine  of  institu- 
tionalized Christianity,  marks  the  narrower  application  of  the 
term  "salvation"  as  well  as  of  the  idea.  Dogmatic  interests 
tend  to  give  it  an  exclusiveness  which  is  hostile  to  a  scientific 
understanding  of  its  growth  and  function.  This  doctrine  of 
salvation  is  indeed  accompanied  by  Christological  speculations 
and  does  not  in  any  case  receive  primary  recognition  in  compar- 
ison with  the  metaphysical  treatment  of  the  person  of  Christ. 
Thle  history  of  Christian  belief  as  recorded  in  personal  statements 
of  faith  and  in  the  creeds  of  different  periods  and  communities, 
not  to  mention  the  theologies  of  modern  writers,  reveals  the 
characteristic  tendency  to  center  interest  in  the  person  of  the 
savior  rather  than  in  the  process  of  salvation.  Yet  salvation,  as 
ia  function  of  the  metaphysical  Christ,  is  always  necessary  to  a 
complete  picture.  The  reason  for  such  prominence  of  a  savior 
must  be  carefully  considered,  and  its  'antecedents  psychologically 
reconstructed,  in  view  of  the  possibility  that  the  motivating 
impulse  is  after  all,  an  interest  in  salvation  rather  than  in  iaj  savior. 

11 


12  'QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

If  one  Should  study  even  casually  the  outstanding  Christian 
theories  of  salvation,  he  would  discover  a  close  connection  be- 
tween them  and  the  social  theories  which  lie  behind  all  the  major 
institutions.  For  instance,  the  system  of  Anselm,  which  does  not 
claim  dependence  upon  Scriptural  authority,  is  clearly  a  reflec- 
tion of  current  feudalism  in  the  midst  of  a  theologian's  specu- 
lation. Man  is  simply  a  religicized  vassal,  and  God  a  tnans- 
cendentalized  liegelord.1  Even  in  the  case  of  those  systems  which 
assume  conformity  to  revealed  patterns  a  similar  correspondence 
is  easily  detected. 

Recognition  of  the  interrelation  of  doctrine  and  social  inter- 
est is  of  supreme  importance  in  the  analysis  of  any  religious 
phenomenon.  Religion  has  .already  been  subjected  to  the  dis- 
cipline of  social  psychology,  though  for  the  most  part  outside 
the  field  of  historical  religion.  The  correspondence  of  a  deity 
to  certain  values  which  hjave  been  socially  determined  by  the 
group  which  worships  the  deity,  or  by  a  different  group  which 
has  transmitted  its  god,  has  become  an  established  and  undis- 
puted conclusion  in  the  study  of  the  history  of  religion. 
Similarly  the  rites  and  practices  of  a  group  are  expressions  of 
a  social  interest  which  at  some  time  was  strong  enough  to  pro- 
duce a  permanent  crystallization  of  its  moods  and  emotions.2 
The  unconscious  impulses  winch  result  in  the  building  up  of  a 
god-idea  are  dependent  upon  the  values  which  have  not  yet 
been  fully  attained  by  the  group.  Thus  antecedent  to  the  final 
picture  of  the  god,  there  is  found  the  germ  of  the  salvation-idea 
which  later  receives  further  elaboration  in  connection  with  the 
developed  theogony.3  The  interest  -of  the  group  in  connection 
with  the  values  socially  discovered,  is  the  beginning  of  the  sal- 
vation-ide/ai ;  while  the  God,  functioning  as  savior,  is  its  consum- 
mation. 

The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the  foregoing  paragraphs  is 
simply  that  the  traditional  doctrine  of  salvation  has  an  historic 
taind  psychological  genesis  in  primitive  man's  realization  of  his 
own  inability  to  secure  for  himself  the  objects  o:f  his  interest 
and  need.  The  salvation  idea  in  some  form  is  for  this  reason 
present  in  religion  at  all  times,  barring,  possibly,  a  few  individual 
exceptions. 

The  recognition  of  salvation  fas  a  widely  prevalent  social 
interest  tends  to  introduce  clarity  into  the  apparently  disparate 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  13 

elements  of  religion.  There  is  'one  constant  factor  which  runs 
throughout  the  range  of  forms,  namely,  the  desire  and  effort 
for  betterment  of  condition.  The  systems  which  are  evolved 
in  response  to  the  promptings  of  the  social  interests  answer 
three  fundamental  questions :  Prom  what  are  men  to  be  saVed  ? 
to  what?  and  how?  There  are  two  opposite  poles  which  mark 
the  boundaries  of  the  conception,  the  whence  'and  the  whither; 
between  these  stretch  the  paths  of  progress,  some  one  of  which 
each  person  or  group  tries  to  follow,  according  to  the  selection 
of  his  own  will,  or  that  of  his  group.  Only  so  long  as  there  is 
movement  from  the  worse  to  the  better,  is  there  salvation. 
Viewed  in  this  light,  salvation  hopes  stand  somewhere  between 
abject  pessimism  on  the  one  hand,  and  uncritical  optimism  on 
the  other,  if  such  extremes  be  actually  possible  in  human  experi- 
ence. And,  being  a  type  of  thought  which  has  as  one  of  its 
indispensable  elements  a  belief  in  progress,  it  is  capable  of  being 
applied  to  a  wide  range  of  situations.  It  is  by  very  nature  pos- 
sessed of  flexibility. 

Primarily  the  different  types  of  salvation  hopes  are  con- 
cerned with  a  present  solution  of  present  ills ;  but  as  the  mystery 
of  the  immediate  '.future  becomes  more  uncertain  by  reason  of 
despair,  the  eventful  day  of  salvation  is  set  far  ahead  in  time 
and  entrusted  to  divine  guidance  apart  from  tany  significant 
human  effort.  Though  salvation,  thus  broadly  interpeted,  always 
possesses  the  basic  principle  of  progress  from  worse  to  better, 
*he  forms  in  which  it  meets  our  attention  in  actual  religious 
employment  are  by  no  means  few  or  simple.  No  attempt  is  here 
made  to  give  an  exhaustive  or  even  scientifically  accurate  classi- 
fication of  the  variant  types  of  salvation  beliefs.  But  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  following  suggestions  may,  at  the  outset,  indicate 
the  certainty  that  each  group's  hope  'for  salvation  is  always 
in  the  mind  of  the  believers  a  practical  and  urgent  affair.4 

One  of  the  crises  which  primitive  man  confronted  was  some 
disruption  of  nature  which  threatened  his  physical  existance. 
Thus  certain  groups  whose  agricultural  products  depended  upon 
seasonable  rains,  feared  the  drought  of  the  growing  season.  Or 
another  group  sought  to  keep  away  the  flood  by  appealing  to 
the  sun  to  show  himself.  Certain  habits  of  nature  became  bound 
up  wTith  human  welfare,  ialnd  hence  man  sought  immunity  from 
such  dangers  as  famine,  flood  and  pestilence,  by  appealing  to 


14  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

those  forces  which,  in  his  mind,  were  more  benign.  The  process 
by  which  he  sought  to  effect  this  end  w\as  in  his  life  part  of  a 
kind  of  nature  salvation.5  The  interest  in  nature  salvation  was 
greatly  diversified.  It  was  easily  turned  into  crude  materialism, 
in  which  poverty  a.nd  prosperity  stood  in  opposition.  Religious 
meaning  was  not  necessarily  absent  however.6  Sickness,  as  a 
result  of  nature's  breakdown  was  also  a  thing  from  which  men 
wished  to  be  saved.7 

An  isoljalted  group  would  be  likely  for  <a  long  time  to  evolve 
no  important  interest  beyond  that  which  centers  about  food, 
shelter,  and  propagation.  But  when  opposing  groups  begin  to 
contend  for  the  saime  resources,  the  life  of  each  is  threatened 
from  a  new  angle.  A  different  type  oH5  salvation  results,  which 
may  be  called  national  salvation.8 

The  breaking  down  of  political  aspirations  through  one 
reason  or  another  and  the  imposition  of  social  distinctions  within 
the  group  tended  -to  divert  the  collective  hope  for  national  sal- 
vation into  class  and  individual  channels.  Thus  there  is  seen 
a  desire  to  be  freed  from  the  handicaps  of  class  position,  such 
as  the  philosopher-slave  experienced  in  view  of  his  intellectual 
elevation  and  his  social  degradation,  or  the  longing  for  cultural 
emancipation  as  an  escape  from  superstition  and  ignorance  which 
were  the  barriers  of  advancement.9 

Human  destiny  often  comes  to  be  thought  of  as  dependent 
upon  ethical  conduct.  National  or  individual  misfortune  is 
interpreted  as  the  penalty  of  wrong  doing.  As  a  result  some  sort 
of  ethical  salvation  becomes  essential.  On  the  one  hand,  deliver- 
ance is  to  be  'effected  by  some  redeemer,  whose  service,  variously 
interpreted,  stands  the  needy  sinner  in  good  stead.  Such  thought 
is  to  be  found  in  much  of  the  Jewish  belief,  in  Christianity,  and 
in  the  Graeco-Roman  mysteries,  not  to  mention  religions  less 
prominent  in  history.10  Or  on  the  other  hand,  the  sinning  person 
or  persons  are  exhorted  to  utilize  the  latent  powers  within 
them  :aind  rise  above  the  shortcomings  of  their  previous  litfe.  This 
moral  urgency  was  particularly  characteristic  of  the  evangel- 
istic philosophies  of  Greece  and  Rome.  The  problem  of  ethics, 
which  was  later  in  development  than  nature  and  national  sal- 
vation, as  far  as  distinctly  formulated  interests  are  concerned, 
became  very  prominent  and  has  remained  so,  simply  because 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  15 

the  integrity  of  modern  society  is  universally  recognized  as  de- 
pending quite  largely  upon  conduct  within  the  group. 

In  the  earlier  stages  -of  Jewish  social  life  ethical  corruption 
was  not  the  sole  thing  from  which  men  wished  to  be  saved.  The 
national  hope  wjajs  very  prominent,  and  the  threatening  armies 
-of  the  enemy  were  thought  of  as  Jehovah 's  agencies  for  the  purg- 
ing of  Israel's  sins.  Yet  even  Israel's  sins  were  often  more  anti- 
national  than  immoral,  in  that  wrong  was  conceived  o;f  as  the 
abandonment  of  the  (ajccustomed  worship  for  participation  in  the 
rites  of  the  stranger. 

What  is  true  of  the  Jewish  people  is  largely  true  of  all 
groups.  Misfortune  can  often  be  explained  only  on  the  basis 
of  a  violation  of  some  rule  of  conduct.  As  personal  or  group  mis- 
fortune becomes  less  prominent,  conduct  comes  to  have  more 
value  in  itself,  and  salvation  comes  to  be,  not  so  much  salvation 
from  impending  danger  by  means  of  ethics,  as  salvation  from 
a  sinful  state  itself. 

The  ancient  explanation  of  phenomena  as  the  action  o'f  spirit 
powers  more  or  less  patterned  after  human  traits,  was  respon- 
sible for  one  of  the  most  persistent  and  wide-spread  forms  of  the 
salvation  idea, — salvation  from  demons.  Instead  of  misfortune 
being  explained  by  wrong-conduct  on  the  part  of  the  individual, 
it  was  interpreted  as  a  consequence  of  some  spirit 's  work.  Wrong 
conduct  itself  was  thought  of  as  incited  by  a  demon,  as  in  the 
gospel  explanation  of  Judas'  treachery  (Jno.  13:2,  27;  Lk.  22:3). 
It  is  not  necessary  to  cite  here  the  innumerable  instances  in  which 
ill  health  was  attributed  to  the  presence  and  activity  of  demons. 
Healing  practices  were  restored  to  for  securing  release  from 
them.  The  gospels  contain  allusions  to  demented  persons  whose 
disabilities  were  removed  by  the  employment  of  exorcism. 
Naturally  enough  there  could  not  fail  to  be  a  desire  to  effect 
salvation  from  the  power  of  demons  whatever  their  action  might 
be.  Over  against  this  idea  of  misfortune,  ill  health,  and  wrong 
conduct  as  being  caused  by  evil  demons,  must  be  set  the  con- 
ception of  opposing  good  demons  and  a  salvation  wrought  by 
a  counteracting  force  of  a  similar  mature,  as  is  to  be  inferred 
from  Matthew  12:43-45  where  the  evil  spirit  is  represented  as 
finding  a  haven  in  his  former  abode,  which  was  indeed  swept 
and  garnished,  but  not  inhabited  by  a  good  demon  to  prevent 
his  return.11 


16  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

The  foregoing  types  of  salvation  thought,  especially  in  their 
simpler  and  unmixed  forms,  are  characteristic  of  a  healthy  and 
natural  attitude  toward  the  world  of  human  experience.  The 
anxiety  and  conc'ern  which  are  felt  are  by  no  meiaois  unfavorable 
judgments  passed  upon  the  world.  Yet  circumstances  do  arise 
in  human  life  which  produce  despair  as  far  as  a  present  remedy 
is  concerned;  and  this  dispair  turns  to  hope  only  by  faith  in  a 
future  world  subject  to  an  entirely  different  kind  of  control. 
Thus  iai  belief  in  other  worldly  salvation  appears.  Unfortunately, 
as  the  modern  mind  sees  it,  this  type  of  redemption  hope  has 
been  predominant  at  almost  all  periods  of  civilized  history,  in 
spite  of  the  inter-mingling  of  ethical  and  group  salvation.  The 
pessimistic  welt-anschauung  oif  the  disorganized  Graeco-Roman 
period  was  taken  over  by  the  Roman  church,  and  there  was  aug- 
miented  and  stabalized.  It  is  this  other  worldly  salvation  that 
has  become  known  ias  the  traditional  doctrine  o'f  salvation.  Like 
all  kindred  hopes,  it  is  based  upon  unfavorable  judgment  of 
this  world  and  its  value.  It  adds  pessimism  to  anxiety  as  regards 
this  world  and  elaborates  its  theory  of  future  management  of 
destinies  to  give  assurance  for  what  cannot  now  be  hoped  for. 

Future  salvation,  like  present  salvation,  is  not  of  one  simple 
form.  Among  the  Jews,  the  abandonment  of  the  ideal  of  a  nation 
made  safe  by  the  power  of  armies  was  accompanied  by  an  in- 
creasing interest  in  apocalyptic  manifestations  as  a  means  of 
group  salvation.  Concerted  action  on  the  part  of  men,  however 
stimulating  it  had  been,  yielded  to  -a  more  pessimistic  but  yet 
equally  hopeful  dependence  upon  God-given  help.  The  kingdom 
of  Heaven  which  John  the  Baptist  preached  was  to  usher  in  the 
divine  control  by  which  the  truly  righteous  would  be  saved, 
while  the  wicked  who  rebelled  against  God  and  his  people  would 
be  lost.  The  early  Christians  appropriated  this  conception  and 
identified  the  exalted  Jesus  with  the  angelic  agent  of  God  who 
was  to  usher  in  the  kingdom.  The  varying  feeling  of  group  solidar- 
ity and  isolation  was  registered  in  the  changing  and  shifting  em- 
phasis placed  on  the  kingdom  as  separate  and  distinct  from  the 
existing  world  order.  The  belief  in  an  apocalyptic  salvation 
followed  the  lines  suggested  by  this  emphasis. 

The  rise  of  individualism  at  various  times  and  places 
served  to  introduce  an  interest  in  personal  salvation  in  the  place 
of  a  hope  for  an  apocalyptic  kingdom.  This  interest  in  many 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  17 

instances  retained  apocalyptic  imagery,  but  it  was  nevertheless 
quite  different  in  other  respects.  Instead  of  the  group  to  be 
saved  as  a  group,  there  was  the  individual ;  and  the  real  individual 
was  either  the  soul  as  distinct  from  the  body,  as  generally  in  the 
gentile  religions,  or  body  and  soul  (as  among  the  Jews,  in 
which  ease  the  resurrection  of  the  physical  body  and  its  en- 
dowment with  immortality  constituted  the  major  part  of  the  hope 
of  salvation.  In  early  Christianity  both  phases  of  individualistic 
salvation  were  present  depending  |at  first  largely  upon  the  pre- 
dominance of  Jewish  or  Gentile  background,  and  later  upon 
distinctly  Christian  interests  growing  out  of  the  movement  itself. 

Salvation,  on  its  formal  side,  is  likely  to  be  of  a  mixed  char- 
acter, due  to  the  composite  nature  of  the  social  structure  itself. 
Several  kinds  oif  interests  are  easily  carried  on  side  by  side. 
Political  and  ethical  salvation,  for  instance,  were  easily  blended 
by  the  Jews.  Similarly  salvation  from  demons  might  have  equal 
prominence  with  some  sort  of  future  salvation.  Such  a  situation 
is  to  be  assumed  as  a  theoretical  probability  drawn  from  the 
nature  of  human  society.  It  only  remains  to  be  tested  at  various 
points  and  elaborated  for  further  clearness. 

It  is  fairly  axiomatic  that  the  stimuli  which  arouse  the  desire 
for  this  or  that  kind  of  salvation  are  to  be  found  in  the  group 
or  individual  experiences  which  at  any  particular  time  present 
acute  'difficulties.  Similarly  the  solutions,  as  far  as  external 
forms  are  concerned,  are  in  some  large  measure  predetermined 
by  these  same  stimuli.  There  can  be,  therefore,  no  one  form  of 
salvation  belief  for  all  ages,  in  as  much  as  problems  are  con- 
tinually shifting.  On  the  other  hand,  the  limit  of  variation  is 
set  by  the  comparative  uniformity  of  human  interests  as  they 
are  linked  up  with  the  basic  instincts  of  life. 

Aside  from  the  divergence  suggested  by  local  and  temporal 
differences  in  the  social  situation,  the  theory  of  salvjation  varies 
to  a. marked  degree  according  to  the  technique  adopted  for  secur- 
ing the  desired  end.  Wundt's  theory  of  the  rise  of  monotheism 
is  instructive  at  this  point.12  He  maintains  that  there  are  two 
sources  for  the  monotheistic  idea,  viz.,  (1)  the  daimon-magic 
concept,  and  (2)  the  reverence  paid  to  the  hero.  In  the  case  of 
the  former,  there  is  thought  to  be  a  quality  or  power  resident  in 
an  object,  which  may  have  a  direct  influence  upon  a  person,  or 
upon  which  a  person  may  have  influence.  This  view  finally 


18  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

eventuates  in  science  which  deals  with  the  understanding  and 
control  of  material  forces,  in  metaphysical  philosophy  wlhich 
attempts  to  give  a  constructive  theory  of  the  universe  on  tjhe 
basis  of  "essence",  and  in  the  religious  and  theological  belief 
that  salvation  may  be  secured  through  contact  with  divine  sub- 
stance (in  which  the  power  resides),  or  through  union  with  the 
god  himself,  as  in  the  mystery  religions.  Reverence  paid  to  the 
hero,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  based  on  a  theory  of  essence, 
but  upon  relations  expressed  toward  a  person,  who,  when 
favorably  disposed  may  grant  the  thing  desired  by  the  suppliant. 
This  attitude  results  in  an  ethical  monotheism  as  over  against 
ontological  monotheism.  Historically  these  theories  are  blended 
in  various  proportions,  though  they  are  by  no  means  logically 
consistent. 

But  behind  this  distinction  between  ideas  of  god,  there  is 
the  more  fundamental  idea  0:6  a  result  to  be  secured  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  worshipper.  Hence  on  the  one  hiand,  there  arose  be- 
liefs in  the  evil  nature  of  man  and  the  pure  nature  of  deity,  and 
in  salvation  by  means  of  the  purifying  magical  contact  of  god- 
substance  with  man-substance.  The  debates  about  the  nature  of 
Christ  find  a  natural  setting  in  this  point  of  view.  The  savior 
was  not  thought  to  have  saving  power  apart  from  his  nature. 
And  again,  in  those  instances  in  which  deity  was  thought  of  as  a 
person  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  conduct,  an  elaborate  theory 
of  behavior  arose  to  instruct  the  believer  in  the  proper  way  of 
securing  the  good-will  of  his  god.  Ethics  is  to  be  connected  with 
religion  primarily  through  the  desire  for  salvation. 

Illustration  of  these  two  methods  of  salvation  may  be  seen 
in  the  Jewish  religion,  and  in  the  mystery  cults  of  Graeco-Roman 
life.  Jehovah  as  a  hero-god  was  kind  to  his  faithful  followers  and 
meted  out  justice  to  others.  He  was  pleased  by  just  such  acts 
as  pleased  a  king.  Obedience  to  God  |amd  justice  toward  man 
assumed  great  prominence  in  the  ethical  scheme.13  On  the  other 
hand,  in  the  case  of  the  mystery  religions,  there  was,  at  least  at 
the  earliest  discernible  period,  no  interest  in  the  ethicial  nature 
of  the  deity  or  in  the  kind  of  conduct  that  would  please  him, 
only  in  the  redeeming  power  which  was  in  his  very  essence  and 
Which  might  be  made  use  of  by  the  direct  tnansf erence  of  power 
through  contact  or  identification  with  that  renovating  being, 
or  by  the  sympathetic  magic  of  imitative  rites  and  ceremonies. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  19 

Historical  Christianity,  since  the  time  of  Paul,  seems  to  present 
ta  mixture  of  these  two  methods  of  gaining  salvation.  The  prom- 
inence of  the  sacraments,  the  conciliar  decisions  on  the  nature  of 
Christ  <and  the  cruder  ideas  of  the  powder  of  relics,  attest  the 
vitality  of  the  belief  in  pure  versus  impure  substances  and  fche 
redemption  of  the  individual  through  getting  in  touch  with  the 
pure  and  avoiding  the  impure. 

While  considering  Salvation  from  the  standpoint  suggested 
above,  recognition  should  be  given  to  those  categories  which  con- 
veniently illustrate  other  aspects  of  this  idea.  In  the  first  place, 
variations  of  the  salvation  interest  may  be  thought  of  in  terms 
of  the  source  of  power.  One  would  then  spe'iak  of  salvation 
through  the  agency  of  a  redeemer  god,  or  salvation  by  the  attain- 
ment of  the  individual.  The  first  type  includes  such  forms  of 
religion  as  freely  express  a  sense  of  personal  inability  to  gain 
security  and  satisfaction.  Historically  speaking,  most  religions 
are  of  this  character,  (a*nd  even  a  claim  of  self  initiative  is  often 
offset  by  the  logic  of  redemption  which  is  incorporated.  Those 
faiths  which  do  assert  mian's  inherent  power  are  reflections  of 
an  attitude  on  the  part  of  man  to  express  confidence  in  his  own 
strength  and  ability  to  extricate  himself  from  the  difficulties  in 
which  he  finds  himself.  In  the  second  place,  salvation  interests 
center  about  that  which  is  to  be  salved, — the  group,  the  individual, 
or  the  soul.  As  in  the  case  of  any  other  classification  of  salvation 
interests,  a  clear  line  of  demarcation  cannot  here  be  maintained 
except  along  arbitrarily  selected  boundaries.  It  is  hardly  nec- 
essiary  to  remind  ourselves  that  the  way  in  which  a  hope  is  ex- 
pressed is  determined  by  the  immediate  social  interest  and  not 
by  an  impulse  to  classify  logically. 

It  has  seemed  best  to  emphasize  here  the  description  of  sal- 
vation ideas  in  conformity  with  the  social  interest  and  structure, 
which,  on  the  one  hand,  gave  the  impetus  toward  seeking  a  so- 
lution, and,  on  the  other,  provided  'the  pattern  which  suggested 
the  form  which  the  solution  should  take.  The  methods  used  in 
glalining  salvation,  viz.,  through  essence  or  through  ethics  as  dis- 
cussed above  should  also  be  held  prominently  in  view.  Other 
distinctions  between  types  of  salvation  theories  may  be  of  great 
value  in  specific  instances,  but  can  hardly  outweigh  for  general 
consideration  of  the  topic,  the  ones  which  have  just  been  stated. 

Primitive  life,  both  as  known  to  us  historically  and  as  pres- 


20  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

ent  in  groups  which  have  not  yet  been  greatly  influenced  by  ad- 
vanced culture,  has  been  repeatedly  studied  from  the  standpoint 
of  social  psychology.  In  fact  the  technique  of  that  branch  of 
scientific  study  owes  much  to  this  material  which  has  been  the 
source  of  such  fruitful  study.  But  recorded  history  for  one 
reason  or  another  has  not  been  so  freely  interpreted.  In  the  field 
of  historic  Christianity,  serious  hindrances  in  the  form  of  stand- 
ards of  orthodoxy  h/ave  been  present  to  check  the  development 
of  an  adequate  understanding  of  the  social  and  psychological 
forces  which  were  operative  at  all  times.  As  the  obstacles  to 
such  a  study  are  removed  and  as  the  development  of  technique 
becomes  sufficiently  advanced,  the  psychology  of  religion  ought 
to  be  greatly  enriched  by  illustrative  land  corrective  data  fur- 
nished by  the  history  of  Christianity. 

In  dealing  with  the  specific  question  of  early  Christian  ideas 
of  salvation,  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  the  general  features 
of  the  period  which,  by  reason  of  their  nature,  would  be  expected 
to  contribute  some  definiteness  to  the  various  beliefs.14  Perhaps 
the  most  adequate  descriptive  term  $or  the  life  of  Graeco-Romiam 
society  is  the  simple  word — chaos.  The  resources  of  the  world 
were  opening  up  faster  than  they  could  be  organized.  After  the 
time  of  Alexander  the  Great  governmental  control  was  continually 
shifting  from  one  center  to  another,  and  was  ahvays  called  in 
question  by  no  small  number  of  those  who  were  theoretically  un- 
der its  dominja'tion.  The  Antigonids,  the  Seleucids,  and  the 
Ptolemies  struggled  to  establish  their  supremacy  by  the  aid  of 
various  alliances.  Their  exhaustion  made  necessary  the  calling 
in  of  a  new  power,  as  arbiter  of  disputes.  Gradually  Rome  be- 
came ambitious  to  fulfil  the  dreams  of  Alexander  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  ;a  great  world-wide  empire.  But  even  when  this  pro- 
ject was  well  under  way  there  was  still  a  characteristic  condition 
of  disorder. 

This  political  situation  was  paralleled  everywhere  in  other 
phases  of  life.  In  large  measure  it  was  responsible  for  the  eco- 
nomic, social,  cultural,  and  religious  uncertainty  of  the  time. 
The  removal  o'f  sharp  national  boundaries  stimulated  the  inter- 
course of  free  commerce  and  the  migration  of  workmen  and 
tradespeople  from  one  place  to  another.  Military  expeditions 
shifted  great  numbers  of  people  as  colonial  settlers,  as  police 
forces  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  order,  and  as  slaves  who 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  21 

were  brought  back  to  Rome  and  other  centers.  A  business  man 
of  the  provinces,  a  craftslmian,  a  philosopher,  or  a  poet,  might  find 
himself  suddenly  transported  from  his  native  city  to  the  capital, 
there  to  grace  according  to  his  rank  the  triumphal  return  of  a 
conquering  general  and  to  contribute  his  part  in  maintaining  the 
position  of  his  captor.  On  the  other  hand  the  outlying  posts  of 
Roman  official  control  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  reshaping 
the  ideals  of  barbarian  peoples.  This  inter-mixture  of  peoples 
could  not  be  without  effect,  for  with  it  went  >a  mingling  of  re- 
ligions, philosophies,  economic  theories  and  practices,  as  well 
as  other  features  of  group  life.  During  the  period  of  instability 
a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction  arose.  Juvenal  and  Martial,  among 
Roman  writers,  reflect  the  logical  pessimism  resulting  from  the 
free  and  uncontrolled  inter-mingling  of  all  the  ethics  and  indi- 
vidual elements  within  the  boundaries  of  the  known  world. 

But  it  is  not  a  trait  of  human  nature  to  acquiesce  in  sucih 
a  condition  of  life.  Hence,  it  occasions  no  surprise  to  meet  with 
an  intense  longing  everywhere  for  release  from  chaotic  limitations 
of  life.  As  !a  result  of  this  longing,  men  turned  in  every  direction 
for  relief,  turning  sometimes  to  the  methods  of  earlier  peoples,  and 
again  taxing  their  ingenuity  in  an  effort  to  construct  new  plans. 

Thus  as  a  correlative  to  this  impatience  with  uncertainty 
and  chaos,  there  was  present  a  tendency  to  organize  all  unrelated 
elements  into  a  unified  whole.  This  is  the  natural  reaction  which 
would  be  looked  for  under  such  circumstances.  The  creation 
and  development  of  the  Roman  Empire  was  the  first  outstanding 
adjustment  in  the  midst  of  disorder.  Its  establishment  was  the 
expression  of  <a  social  consciousness  which  had  at  last  become 
aware  of  a  power  of  mastery.  It  would  not  be  strange,  on  a 
priori  grounds,  to  find  all  phases  of  group  thought  and  life  col- 
ored by  the  same  kind  of  feeling. 

Christianity  itself  cannot  be  thought  of  apart  from  the  sur- 
rounding life.  Geographically  its  early  history  conforms  to  the 
Mediterranean  world.  Its  origin,  however  Semitic  in  outline  and 
character,  is,  nevertheless,  to  be  traced  back  to  a  Mediterranean 
province  which  had  never  been  isolated  to  any  considerable  ex- 
tent. As  the  movement  spread  it  moved  about  the  border  of  the 
Great  Sea  among  those  peoples  who  were  most  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  Graeco-Roman  culture. 

Not  only  did  Christianity  overlap  the  Roman  world  geo- 


22  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

graphically,  but  also  socially  and  religiously.  There  wias  a  con- 
tinuous contact  with  non-Christian  movements  through  the 
admission  of  former  adherents  to  the  pagan  religions  and  through 
the  conflict  which  was  waged  at  /all  times  by  the  rival  cults. 

The  correspondence  between  Christian  and  non-Christian 
belief  did  not  escape  the  eyes  of  many  of  the  early  Christians 
themselves,  and  this  became  one  of  the  most  difficult  facts  to 
explain.  Justin  Martyr  was  aware  of  the  similarity  between 
some  Christian  pr/aictices  and  certain  phases  of  non-Christian 
religions,  e.  g.  Mithraism.15  The  typical  explanations  offered, 
demonic  intrigue  and  espionage,  fall  far  short  of  covering  up  the 
basic  facts  and  their  significance,  namely,  that  Christianity  and 
its  pagan  rivals  were  operating  in  the  midst  of  social  needs  and 
processes  which  gave  to  them  a  correspondence  of  form  and 
function  in  spite  of  their  open  hostility. 

This  generalization,  if  it  be  valid, — and  historical  criticism 
has  established  such  conclusions  with  remarkable  clearness — 
Argues  for  the  assumption  of  a  correspondence  of  the  Christian 
idea  of  salvation  to  social  interests  and  structure  which  Christians 
shared  with  non-Christians.  To  be  exact,  the  correspondence 
is  not  between  Christian  and  non-Christian  ideas  about  salvation 
or  any  other  doctrine,  but  between  Christian  salvation  -and  social 
interests,  on  the  one  hand,  and  between  pagan  ideas  and  the 
same  social  interests,  on  the  other.  Correspondence  between 
expressions  of  religious  faith  does  not  presuppose  any  special 
attitude  toward  each  other  on  the  part  of  those  who  hold  to  the 
beliefs;  nor  does  an  attitude  determine  the  presence  or  absence 
of  beliefs  which  possess  corresponding  functions.  In  fact  it  may 
be  wholly  unconscious,  conscious  without  hostility,  or  present 
in  spite  oj:  opposition  existing  between  the  different  groups  hold- 
ing to  the  ideas  in  question.  In  turning,  then,  to  an  intensive 
study  of  the  conception  of  salvation  held  by  early  Christians, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  discriminate  carefully  between  the  differ- 
ent emotional  reactions  which  were  expressed  in  connection  with 
the  belief,  and  to  give  an  evaluation  on  the  basis  of  functional 
significance.  In  order  to  achieve  the  latter  aim  it  will  further 
be  necessary  to  become  acquainted  with  the  ideas  of  salvation 
which  were  current  in  the  non-Christian  religions  of  the  time 
and  the  part  which  they  played  in  satisfying  social  needs,  before 
studying  the  Christian  beliefs  which  iatre  more  particularly  within 
the  range  of  our  interests. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  23 

CHAPTER   II. 

HEBREW  AND  JEWISH  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  any  kind  'or  type  of  salvation 
interest  which  did  not  assert  itself  at  some  time  or  other  in  Jewish 
life  to  8uch  an  extent  that  it  left  its  imprint  upon  the  literature 
of  that  people.  In  spite  of  the  long  period  represented  in  the 
history  of  Israel  and  the  great  diversity  of  experiences  through 
which  the  pepole  passed,  there  is  a  consistent  unity  of  purpose 
in  the  national  /ajnd  religious  -aims  which  tends  to  make  the  prob- 
lem of  salvation  prominent  in  one  form  or  another.  In  fact,  one 
would  not  be  (far  afield  if  he  should  assert  that  this  is  the  greatest 
problem  with  which  all  Jewish  writers  were  concerned. 

The  history  covered  by  the  Old  Testament  books,  while  not, 
in  this  study,  the  subject  of  minute  enquiry,  is  readily  seen  to  be 
filled  with  a  wealth  of  material  which  indicates  the  prevalence  of 
this  eagerness  to  interpret  all  experience  in  the  light  of  its 
redemptive  implications.  It  will  be  sufficient  here  to  offer  only  a 
meagre  part  of  the  data  which  might  be  used  in  pointing  out  the 
diversity  of  salvation  ideals  which  were  held  by  Israel  /ait  various 
times  and  in  various  situations.  No  attempt  will  be  made  to  treat 
exhaustively  the  motivating  impulses  which  characterized  the 
quests  for  salvation  which  the  Hebrews  made  from  time  to  time. 
The  Old  Testament  literature  has  been  carefully  investigated  by 
specialists,  so  much  so  that  the  main  lines  of  Hebrew  thought 
which  deal  with  the  subject  now  under  consideration  are  fa- 
miliar to  .'all.  It  is  hoped,  however,  that  the  facts  brought  forward 
may  suffice  as  a  suggestive  background  offering  some  perspective 
for  viewing  subsequent  Christian  religious  life.  The  literature 
of  the  inter-testamental  period  will  also  be  studied  in  view  of  the 
%ct  that  Christianity's  ejairliest  years  were  closely  environed  by 
the  conditions  therein  reflected. 

The  most  primitive  form  of  salvation  interest  to  be  met  with 
in  Hebrew  literature  is  that  in  which  is  seen  an  attempt  to  arrive 
at  a  satisfactory  adjustment  with  the  forces  of  nature.  There  are 
many  evidences  that  the  worship  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  was  very 
largely  a  religion  of  nature,  as  were  the  other  Semitic  religions 
of  the  same  plane.1  There  was  for  a  very  long  time  a  tendency 
on  the  part  of  the  Hebrews  to  return  to  the  worship  of  deity  as  a 
nature  god.  And  even  after  this  had  been  fairly  well  eradicated 


24  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

by  the  strenuous  efforts  of  tihe  leaders,  traces  of  the  primitive 
cults  still  remained  in  the  prominence  given  to  seasonal  festivities 
and  rites.  The  reason  for  this  is  not  far  to  be  sought.  Tihe 
people's  (actual  every  day  experience  was  so  enmeshed  with  the 
natural  processes  61  life  about  them  thja't  their  god  could  not  be 
a  functioning  god  unless  he  was  potent  with  the  strength  of  na- 
ture herself.  For  the  most  part  the  god  of  nature  was  ifriendly 
but  it  was  necessary  to  guarantee  the  continuance  of  his  good 
will  by  proper  worship.  This  is  the  motive  of  the  desire  for  what 
may  well  be  called  nature  salvation. 

The  dependence  of  Isrfael  upon  the  powers  of  nature  during 
the  nomadic  and  agricultural  stages  of  their  history  and  the 
dangers  that  threatened  them  from  that  source,  are  sufficient 
explanation  for  the  preservation  of  such  accounts  as  the  flood  story 
and  many  of  the  experiences  of  the  wandering  of  the  tribes.  The 
flood  story  recounts  the  preservation  of  Noah  and  his  family, 
together  with  animals  upon  which  iman  subsisted,  as  well  as 
unclean  animals;2  the  waters  of  Marah  were  made  sweet  that 
Israel  might  not  perish  of  thirst,3  or,  the  waters  burst  forth  from 
the  rock  at  Rephidim,  and  at  Kadesh;4  the  qufails  and  manna 
were  sent  that  Israel  might  not  die  of  hunger  ;5  Jehovah  promised 
to  ward  off  disease  from  the  faithful.6  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  in  one  case,  at  least,  nature  salvation  was  thought  of  as 
symbolized  for  the  s(ake  of  later  generations.  Thus  the  provi- 
dence of  God  w<as  to  be  attested  "throughout  the  generations"  by 
the  manna  kept  as  &  memorial  in  the  Ark  of  the  Testimony.7 
Furthermore,  the  rock  of  Kadesh  was  pictured  by  tradition  as 
following  the  children  of  Israel  to  save  them  from  dying  of  thirst 
while  in  the  wilderness.8  This  tradition  no  doubt  gave  additonal 
richness  to  the  imagery  of  God  as  a  rock  of  salvation. 

The  holding  of  festivals  at  the  time  of  the  planting  of  grains, 
when  the  young  of  the  flocks  were  born,  and  -at  the  harvest  and 
vintage  season  was  nothing  less  than  an  avowal  of  belief  in  the 
kindness  of  the  god  in  sending  the  various  kinds  of  food  and 
raiment  to  his  people.  To  the  Jews  who  had  spent  a  long  time 
wandering  in  the  barren  lands  of  Arabia,  the  fertility  of  Canaan, 
"•a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey",  could  be  nothing  else 
than  a  gift  of  Jehovah  intended  to  save  them  from  further  wan- 
dering and  distress.  Various  causes  might  be  offered  as  reasons 
for  the  wilderness  experience,  but  always  there  was  the  belief 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  25 

that  God  would  bring  his  people  to  a  fairer  land,  through  his  own 
leadership  and  that  of  his  chosen  agents.  Sin  and  unbelief  may 
have  been  on  religious  grounds  the  cause  of  the  people 's  distress, 
but  they  did  not  displace  hunger,  thirst,  fatigue  and  plagues, 
(as  the  things  from  which  they  wished  relief.  The  demand  of 
self-preservation  was  imperative  and  in  the  nomadic  and  early 
agricultural  periods  overshadowed  the  ethical  ideals  which  had 
by  this  time  attained  to  some  degree  of  significance. 

It  is  a  commonplace  that  Jewish  interests  were  predominant- 
ly group  interests.  Individualism  arose  at  a  relatively  late 
period  and  at  no  time  was  characteristic  of  Hebrew  religion  as  la 
whole.9  A  quite  primitive  expression  of  desire  for  "group  sal- 
vation" is  to  be  seen  in  the  characteristic  Hebrew  longing  for 
posterity.  The  'family  sought  perpetuity  ias  the  nation  did  later. 
Thus  are  to  be  interpreted  the  words  spoken  to  Abraham,  "I  will 
make  thy  seed  as  the  dust  of  the  earth;  so  that,  if  a  man  can 
number  the  dust  of  the  earth,  then  shall  thy  seed  be  numbered."10 
The  desire  voiced  here  is  to  be  seen  in  concrete  form  in  the  story 
of  Abraham  and  Sara  with  whom  were  associated  Hiaigar  and 
Ishmael.11  The  book  of  Ruth  gives  classic  expression  to  the  Jewish 
longing  for  an  undying  name  in  the  family.  The  tragedy  of 
the  life  of  Hannah,  one  of  the  two  wives  of  Elkanah,  was  that 
she  had  no  children  though  her  rivfail  did.  The  gift  of  the  child 
Samuel  was  Hannah's  salvation.12  This  characteristic  attitude 
is  also  seen  in  the  story  of  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth,  parents  of 
John  the  Baptist.13 

Such  narratives  /as  these  gain  their  meaning  only  through 
the  yearning  that  the  family  might  not  be  extinguished  but  might 
carry  on  the  name  o'f  the  patriarch  and  the  worship  of  Jehovah 
under  his  blessing.  The  clan  life  of  the  patriarchal  period  had 
fixed  indelibly  on  the  Jewish  mind  the  sanctity  of  the  family. 
An  unattached  individual  was  virtually  an  outcast,  a  man  without 
honor.14  The  patriarch  of  the  family  was  the  representative  of 
all  the  members  whether  in  the  presence  of  a  friendly  or  hostile 
clan,  or  before  God.  His  blessing  was  guarantee  of  future  recog- 
nition and  power,  as  the  story  of  Jacob  and  Esau  plainly  indi- 
cates.15 To  be  the  last  of  a  family  was  a  terrible  calamity,  from 
which  every  Jew  hoped  to  escape  by  the  favor  o'f  Jehovah.16 

In  the  study  of  Israel's  group  life,  particularly  in  its  more 
highly  developed  form,  it  is  natural  to  anticipate  final  results  by 


26  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

postulating  on  <a  priori  grounds  a  national-political  salvation, 
with  such  minor  variations  as  exigency  demanded  from  time  to 
time.  No  clearer  illustration  of  this  can  be  found  than  in  the 
niarrative  which  deals  with  the  initial  events  of  Israel's  national 
venture,  particularly  the  account  of  the  departure  from  Egypt.17 
Israel  was  here  placed  over  against  Egypt;  and  the  former's 
weakness  in  the  contest  was  supplemented  by  the  strong  arm  of 
Jehovah.  "And  Moses  said  unto  the  people,  Fear  ye  not,  stand 
still,  and  see  the  salvation  of  Jehovah,  which  he  will  work  for 
you  today.  .  .  .  Jehovah  will  fight  for  you,  and  you  shall  hold 
your  plaice."18  There  is  a  certain  literalness  in  the  Israelites' 
picture  of  the  relationship  existing  between  themselves  and  their 
god.  He  actually  gave  them  strength  for  their  combat,  as  in  the 
battle  at  Rephidim  with  the  Amalekites  during  which  Moses' 
uplifted  hand  holding  the  rod  of  God  signified  the  help  and  power 
of  God.19  Jehovah  was  supposed  to  dwell  in  the  Ark,20and  from 
his  seat  there  to  command  his  victorious  armies,21  or,  if  the  ark 
was  cjaiptured,  to  torment  and  afflict  the  enemies  of  Israel.22 
Jehovah  was  indeed  a  worker  of  salvation  during  the  stormy 
period  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan. 

Without  tracing  the  subsequent  history  in  detail,  we  are 
nevertheless  struck  with  the  continuance  of  this  same  idea  for  (a 
long  time.  Israel  wfas  always  a  chosen  people, — a  nation  chosen 
of  God  for  his  own  purposes.  Whenever  miscarriage  of  plans 
thwarted  the  growing  nationalism,  reliance  in  Jehovah  as  the 
one  able  and  willing  to  help,  was  the  sole  solution  of  the  problem. 
The  one  great  task  was  the  firm  establishment  of  the  nation  and 
its  further  development  in  the  direction  of  what  now  appears  to 
have  been  a  quite  rigid  particularism.  Moral  problems  of  the 
individual  or  nation  were  not  moral  in  themselves,  but  in  relation 
to  the  building  up  of  nationalism.  The  conquest  of  Canaan, 
the  growth  of  national  consciousness  during  the  period  of  the 
judges  and  kings,  the  struggle  against  the  opposing  people  of 
the  North  and  East,  the  tragic  hopes  of  the  Exile,  and  the  supreme 
effort  of  the  Maccabaean  leaders  to  rebuild  the  nation,  not  to 
mention  later  sporadic  attempts,  aire  all  expressions  of  an  in- 
terest centering  about  the  safety  and  progress  of  the  chosen 
people  of  God,  and  every  trial  and  danger  brought  forth  an 
appeal  for  Israel's  salvation.23 

A  special  type  of  national  sialvation  is  to  be  found  in  the 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  27 

Messianic  hope  of  Israel.  Wihereas  in  the  early  period  of  Hebrew 
history,  Jehovah  was  actually  present  as  a  leader  and  hence  was 
the  immediate  deliverer  in  time  of  stress,  at  a  Ijater  stage,  he  was, 
in  Hebrew  thought,  less  intimately  connected  with  the  details 
of  control  among  his  people.  He  was  more  a  superintendent 
of  destinies,  than  a  bearer  oiB  salvation,  and  as  a  consequence 
many  of  his  functions  were  delegated  to  his  representative.  The 
cause  of  this  is  no  doubt  to  be  seen  in  the  experiences  through 
wlhich  the  people  themselves  were  passing.  Earlier  the  leader 
of  the  Twelve  Tribes  was  some  particularly  able  individual  Who 
rose  from  the  ranks.  But  he  was  always  one  of  the  people,  with 
the  same  purpose  and  interests.  He  was  set  ioff  from  his  fellows 
only  by  his  special  talents.  With  the  gaining  of  desired  ends  and 
an  increasing  stability,  the  ruler  began  to  have  personal  ambitions 
which  distinguished  him  from  his  subjects.  Oriental  monarchical 
ideals  readily  flourished  in  Israel.  The  king  was  far  removed 
beclaiuse  of  his  splendor  and  special  privilege.  His  dignity  per- 
mitted intercourse  with  his  people  only  on  stated  conditions,  and 
often  through  certain  functionaries.  These  features  of  Hebrew  life 
furnished  the  model  after  winch  the  Messianic  beliefs  of  Israel 
were  unconsciously  but  actually  patterned. 

The  motivation  of  the  Messianic  hope  is  to  be  seen  in  another 
of  the  experiences  of  Israel.  The  success  of  the  national  project 
and  the  development  of  (aloofness  and  hostility  toward  nearby 
kingdoms  made  Palestine  a  desirable  prize  of  war.  Yet  the 
continual  threatening  and  successful  onslaughts  of  strong  armies 
were  too  nerve-racking  for  even  Israel's  confident  trust  in  the 
sword  of  battle.  She  began  to  doubt  her  own  ability  and,  most 
humiliating  of  /all,  her  favor  with  God.  But  out  of  this  despair 
there  arose  a  belief,  fostered  by  the  more  zealous  patriots,  that 
Jehovah,  though  a  far-away  king,  would  by  his  miraculous  power, 
re-establish  his  people  in  his  favor  and  in  honor  and  power  among 
the  nations  of  the  world.  An  individual,  a  succession  of  indi- 
viduals, or  a  remnant  of  Israel,  might  in  turn  be  recognized  as 
the  messiah,  the  agent  of  Jehovah  in  this  saving  work.  The 
type  of  salvation  was  not  changed  by  this  fact.  Israel  was  to 
be  saved  on  this  e)arth  as  a  nation,  a  people. 

Thus  out  of  the  experiences  of  Israel  were  built  up  the  Mes- 
sianic hopes.  Jehovah  was  pictured  in  the  same  relation  to  the 
people  as  was  the  monarch.  He  was  far  off,  and  g\ave  blessings 


28  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

or  withheld  them  as  it  pleased  a  ruler  to  do,  and  generally  through 
a  representative.  This  conception  gave  the  form  of  the  Messianic 
hope  for  a  national  salvation.  The  prompting  came  from  the 
national  disasters  which  had  been  and  were  about  to  be  ex- 
perienced. 

At  'a  later  time,  when  hope  of  a  nation  on  earth  in  accordance 
with  the  current  nationalism  was  turned  to  despair,  apocalyptic 
Messianism  appeared  as  a  necessary  stimulus  for  Israel's  lagging 
spirits.  The  Messiah  was,  in  this  case,  a  divine  being;  his  king- 
dom was  eternial  or  temporal  on  the  earth,  or  heavenly  and  eter- 
nal, in  which  were  to  be  assembled  all  those  whose  claim  to  sal- 
vation was  secure. 

Whatever  was  the  form  of  the  Messianic  hope,  there  was  one 
item  in  Hebrew  thought  which  determined  the  lines  of  its  devel- 
opment ;  and  that  was  the  interpretation  of  the  means  of  salvation 
in  terms  of  personal  relations  with  Jehovah.  Without  doubt  the 
consistent  presence  of  patriarchal  and  national  leadership  con- 
tributed to  this  end.  The  thing  which  brought  about  the  best 
working  conditions  in  the  family,  tribe,  or  nation,  was  conform- 
ity to  the  will  of  the  chief.  Social  control  was  effected  by  means 
of  an  adjustment  of  personal  relations.  Since  Jehovah  was 
thought  of  as  Lord  of:  Hosts,  King,  or  even  as  Father,  the  welfare 
of  the  people  was  furthered  by  conformity  to  his  will.  Here 
arose  the  problem  of  determining  what  was  Jehovah's  will.  Some 
variation  in  solution  was  inevitable,  due  to  the  temper  and  en- 
vironment of  different  interpreters.  Wtyait  actually  took  place 
was  the  recognition  of  valid  customs  and  habits,  determined  by 
human  social  experience,  as  direct  commands  of  God.2* 

At  first  the  personal  relation  between  Jehovah  and  his  chil- 
dren culminated  in  an  interest  in  what  we  have  called  group  slal- 
vation;  but  with  the  elaboration  of  the  system,  ethics  took  its 
place  as  a  means  of  individual,  as  well  as  group,  salvation.  This 
w/ass  true  particularly  after  the  defeat  of  national  hopes,  during 
the  Exile,  and  later.  It  is  not  possible  here  to  treat  exhaustively 
the  different  ways  in  which  the  hope  for  ethical  salvation  was 
expressed.25  It  will  suffice  at  this  point  to  recall  a  few  of  the 
many  passages  in  which  the  importance  of  ethics  is  emphasized. 

The  fifty-first  Psalm,  which  has  traditionally  been  associated 
with  David's  sin  in  disposing  of  Uriah  and  seducing  Bathsheba,26 
leaves  no  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  need  for  ethical 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  29 

salvation.  There  is  no  intimation  here  that  sin  meant  eternal 
condemnation,  but  rather  a  present  separation  from  the  provi- 
dence of  God.  "Cast  me  not  away  from  thy  presence."  (verse  11) 
is  the  burden  of  the  ple/a.  Similarly  the  one  who  is  to  "ascend 
into  the  hill  of  Jehovah"  and  "stand  in  his  holy  place",  must  be 
one  who  has  "clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart",  etc.27  Jehovah's 
blessing,  righteousness,  and  salvation  are  here  used  ^ts  synonyms, 
thus  indicating  the  quality  of  personal  relationship  which  was 
the  desideratum  in  ethical  salvation.  In  addition  to  instances 
of  individualistic  salvation  such  as  these,  the  great  prophets  were 
concerned  with  the  conduct  of  the  whole  people.  Thus  Isaiah 
(1:10-20,)  challenges  the  evil  conduct  of  his  own  people  under 
cover  of  addressing  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  concludes  his  ap- 
peal with  these  words,  "If  ye  be  willing  and  obedient,  ye  shall  ©at 
the  good  of  the  land;  but  if  ye  refuse  and  rebel!,  ye  shall  be 
devoured  with  the  sword ;  for  the  mouth  of  Jehovah  hath  spoken 
it."28  Micah  (2:2;  3:1-3)  gives  an  even  more  scathing  denuncia- 
tion of  the  sins  of  the  people,  and  follows  (6  :6-8)  with  his  state- 
ment of  Jehovah 's  will,  "to  do  justly,  and  to  love  kindness,  and  to 
wialk  humbly  with  thy  God".  It  should  be  noted  that  ethics  was  not 
strictly  speaking  an  end  in  itself.  The  real  issue  was  the  salvation 
(preservation)  of  the  nation  from  the  threatening  armies  of  the 
enemy.  The  patriot-prophets  attributed  the  danger  to  a  violation 
of  the  will  of  God.  That  is,  Israel,  the  subject,  had  in  some  way 
offended  the  pleasure  of  Jehovah,  the  divine  monarch.  The  hap- 
piness of  the  people,  their  prosperity,  their  future,  their  very 
lives  depended  upon  the  friendly  dispensations  of  God.  That  they 
interpreted  the  will  of  God  in  terms  of  morality  is  to  their  credit, 
even  though  it  may  lack  the  social  values  which  Ifater  experience 
of  humanity  brought  forward.  Moral  conduct  was  then  a  means 
to  salvation,  a  salvation  given  by  God,  and  not  acquiring  its  worth 
from  the  quality  of  the  human  activity  involved. 

Another  phase  of  salvation  formula  may  be  seen  in  the 
growing  interest  in  legalism  as  fostered  by  the  priests.  The  will 
of  God  was  interpreted  in  a  less  ethical  sense,  though  not  in  a 
non-ethical  sense.  Ezekiel  and  the  Priestly  narrative  are  the 
chief  sources  for  this  type  of  thought.  The  procedure  adopted  in 
this  phjase  of  religious  expression,  though  not  possessing  the  high 
moral  quality  of  the  prophetic  message,  is  nevertheless  based  on 
the  same  form  of  experience,  the  subject-ruler  relation,  as  under- 


30  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

stood  to  exist  between  God  and  man.  Also  its  motivation  is  the 
same,  viz.,  the  desire  to  make  the  people 's  position  secure  through 
the  establishment  of  friendly  relations  between  the  two  parties  of 
the  contract. 

The  experiences  of  the  Exile  broadened  the  particularism 
through  increased  contact  with  other  peoples.  Liberality  toward 
foreigners  was  not  unmixed  with  bitterness  however.  The  Jews 
were  in  the  Exile  when  Isaiah  40-55  was  written  and  were  seeking 
deliverance  from  bondage.  Their  haughtiness  had  been  consid- 
erably tempered.  In  chapter  55:1-5,  the  nation  is  called  the 
future  David  who  shall  give  his  "sure  mercies"  'for  the  salvation 
of  all  the  world.29  Isaiah  56-66  was  written  after  the  return, 
wlhen  the  people's  desire  was  for  the  restoration  of  prosperity. 
The  opening  chapter  in  this  section  is  a  beautiful  expression  of 
the  belief  that  ?all  nations  should  be  saved  by  Jehovah.  The 
trials  of  the  Jews  had  convinced  them  that  it  was  Jehovah  and 
not  Israel  alone  who  should  bring  about  salvation.30  This  idea  of 
universal  redemption  is  found  not  only  in  "Second"  Isaiah,  but 
also  in  Jonalh,  certain  of  the  Psalms,  notably  the  87th,  and  in 
Jeremiah,  (16:19.)  The  commendable  features  of  heathen  culture 
had  not  made  any  impression  on  Israel 's  great  leaders  as  long  as 
there  was  an  actual  struggle  for  supremacy.  As  opponents  of  the 
people  of  Jehovah,  the  gentile  nations  were  without  the  pale  and 
with  no  chance  of  being  saved ;  or,  as  interpreted  by  some  of  the 
prophets,  they  were  temporarily  agents  of  God  in  the  punishment 
of  wayward  Israel.  But  in  the  end,  'after  the  purging  of  sin,  at 
least  a  remnant  of  Israel  should  be  restored  and  should  dominate 
the  world.  During  the  Exile,  however,  the  Jews  learned  to 
respect  their  earlier  enemies,  or  at  least  to  desire  some  of  their 
prosperity.  In  any  event,  they  cherished  for  other  peoples  the 
same  Salvation  which  they  expected  Jehovah  to  give  to  them.31 

Another  rare  phase  of  the  salvation  interest  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  book  of  Job.  The  chief  character,  Job,  refuses  throughout 
the  drama  to  acknowledge  that  he  has  sinned  and  thus  brought 
upon  himself  the  curse  of  God.  The  situation  out  of  which  the 
book  grew  evidently  wiate  one  in  which  the  conventional  ideas  of 
sin  and  salvation  were  not  then  acute.  Yet  there  was  a  poignant 
yearning  for  the  presence  of  God.  The  reality  of  Job's  affliction 
was  not  the  sole  problem  for  him.  His  crying  need  was  not  release 
from  physical  suffering,  for  restoration  of  property  and  family, 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  31 

but  an  assurance  of  the  presence  of  God  in  &  world  of  cosmic  and 
human  relationships.  Job  wished  to  be  saved  from  emptiness  of 
life  to  companionship  with  his  God  in  his  entire  experience. 

Increased  social  complexity  and  wider  contact  is  written 
upon  the  pages  of  the  late  literature  of  the  Jewish  people.  In 
these  books  is  registered  the  scale  of  hopes  by  which  the  Jews 
tested  their  chances  in  the  future,  either  as  individuals  or  as  a  nia^ 
tion,  as  confident  in  this  world  order,  or  in  the  possibilities  of  the 
coming  regime  only.  Many  o;f  their  old  interests  faded  away,  and 
many  became  diversified  and  specialized  through  the  multiplicity 
of  forces  brought  to  bear  upon  them. 

It  is  quite  obvious  that  the  Jews  of  the  Greek  and  Roman 
periods  would  not  have  such  intimate  relationship  with  the  forces 
of  mature  as  did  their1  ancestors.  Hence  there  is  not  to  be  found 
the  kind  of  stories  and  history  that  wiats  so  expressive  of  primitive 
Hebrew  life.  These  earlier  stories  were  carried  over,  it  is  true,  as 
symbolic  of  the  dependence  of  all  Jews  upon  Jehovah  at  all  times. 
The  urgency  or  other  demlands  and  interests  relegated  nature  sal- 
vation, as  we  have  used  the  term,  to  a  secondary  or  even  less 
prominent,  position.  The  fortunes  of  the  state,  or  more  properly 
the  misfortunes,  were  uppermost  in  the  people 's  minds,  and 
famine  and  pestilence,  which  previously  had  been  thrust  upon 
man  in  his  immediate  contact  with  nature,  were  now  brought  by 
the  sword  of  the  nation's  enemies.32 

In  the  days  of  Irael's  most  hopeful  ambitions  the  commonly 
accepted  belief  was  that  Jehovah's  favor  would  bring  about  the 
ideal  kingdom,  &  theocratic  institution  on  earth.  The  glories  of 
David  and  Solomon  would  return.  Some  chosen  agent  might  in- 
deed us'her  in  this  regime,  but  he  would  do  so  only  in  accordance 
with  a  still  unchecked  nationalism  and  only  as  an  accidental 
character  in  the  scheme.  But  the  increasing  disasters  of  the 
people  \ais  a  group  drove  their  hopes  in  two  directions.  Realizing 
the  futility  of  moderate  means  in  the  promotion  of  temporal  ad- 
vantages, the  zealous  nationalists  alllowed  their  misfortune  to  fan 
the  flames  o'f  particularistic  fanaticism  and  to  drive  them  to  open 
and  defiant  rebellion.  Or  on  the  other  hand,  the  realization  of 
physical  powerlessness  tended  to  stifle  all  interest  in -this  world 
and  its  order  and  to  turn  all  eyes  toward  the  future,  when 
Jehovah  would  by  miraculous  means  vindicate  his  chosen  people. 


32  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

These  two  tendencies  characterize  most  of  the  history  of  late 
Judaism  and  the  literature  which  (arose  within  it.33 

There  was  a  considerable  number  who  sought  to  establish 
the  nation  secure  from  the  attacks  of  its  enemies,  but  along  the 
same  lines  as  the  early  champions  of  Israel  followed.  Sialvation 
was  the  work  of  the  sword,  and  the  kingdom  of  the  saved  was  to 
stand  forever  on  this  earth  in  the  midst  of  surroundings  un- 
changed except  in  the  direction  of  a  more  securely  fixed  order. 
The  hope  of  a  restored  Israel  was  expressd  in  various  ways.  For 
instance,  the  enemies  were  to  be  destroyed,34  the  exiles  were  to 
be  led  back  to  Palestine,35  Jerusalem  was  to  be  rebuilt.36  In  Psalms 
of  Solomon  (17:23)  the  appeal  is  made  to  Jehovah  that  he  raise 
up  a  king,  the  Son  of  D/avid,  who  should  bring  about  these  results. 

Salvation  'for  Israel  reached  >one  of  its  most  acute  stages 
during  the  Maccabaean  period.  The  bitter  persecutions  of  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes  and  the  intrigues  of  his  successsors  provoked 
the  faithful  M)attathias  and  his  sons  to  open  revolt.  There  was 
at  first,  at  least,  no  conscious  feeling  on  their  part  that  they  were 
especially  prominent  in  the  redemptive  program.  Judas,  as  re- 
ported in  I  Maccabees  3  :18-22,  trusted  that  strength  for  the  few 
would  come  from  Heaven  to  save  them  from  the  insolent  enemy. 
At  one  time,  the  subordinates  Joseph  and  Azarias  attempted  to 
gjain  reknown  by  overcoming  the  enemy  in  an  independent  attack, 
but  were  badly  defeated.  The  author  of  I  Maccabees  comments 
thus  (5:63)  :  "But  they  were  not  of  the  seed  of  those  men,  by 
whose  hand  deliverance  was  given  unto  Israel",  i.  e.,  they  were 
not  of  the  Hasmonaean  line  as  were  the  Maccabaean  brothers. 
The  author  of  I  Enoch,  (90:9  ff)  uses  imagery  which  certainly 
refers  to  Judia-s  Maccabaeus  and  his  brethren  as  the  deliverers  of 
Israel  from  her  enemies.  For  some  years  the  struggle  continued, 
giving  more  or  less  prominence  to  the  ideals  o;f!  religious  and 
national  freedom,  but  finally  shifting  to  a  different  contest,  ' '  with 
the  question  whether  the  friends  of  the  Greeks  or  the  national 
party  within  the  Jewish  nation  itself  should  have  the  suprem- 
acy."37 

In  the  writings  of  Josephus  we  find  evidence  that  the  hope 
of  a  particularistic  salvation  for  the  Jews  had  not  been  aban- 
doned in  his  day.  At  first  a  hike-warm  nationalist,  he  had  him- 
self been  won  over  to  the  side  of  the  Romans,  and,  opportunist 
that  he  was,  pictured  Vespiasian  as  the  Messianic  savior  of  the 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  33 

Jewish  people.38  More  reliable,  however,  as  indications  of  the 
views  of  his  less  wavering  kinsmen,  are  his  reports  (somewhat 
garbled,  it  is  true)  of  the  activities  of  certain  parties  and  sects 
within  Judaism.  Festus  was  'obliged  to  suppress  "a  certain  im- 
postor, who  promised  deliverance  and  freedom  '.from  .  .  .  mis- 
eries".39 An  Egyptian  Mse  prophet  attempted  to  get  an  army 
that  he  might  wrest  Jerusalem  from  the  Romans.40  Josephus 
speaks  with  considerable  disdain,  for  politic  reasons,  of  the  Zeal- 
ots, calling  them  Robbers.  But  it  is  clear,  in  any  case,  that  they 
were  a  group  of  fanaticial  patriots  who  longed  to  complete  what 
the  Maccabees  had  begun.41  In  addition  to  the  Robbers  or  Zeal- 
ots, there  was  a  more  fanatical  band  who  had  similar  but  exag- 
gerated ideas  of  expediency,  the  Sicarii,  who  sought  to  rid  them- 
selves of  their  Romjan  overlords  by  cleverly  executed  assassina- 
tions.42 It  was  this  insistent  longing  for  release  from  Western 
domination  which  made  the  Roman  officials  so  suspicious  of  any 
show  of  leadership  among  the  Jews.  One  of  the  potent  factors 
leading  to  the  death  of  Jesus  was  the  fear  on  the  part  of  the 
Romans  that  he  would  assume  the  leadership  of  a  Zealot  party 
eager  for  the  redemption  of  the  nation's  honor,  as  had  occurred 
some  time  before  (4  B.C.)  when  Judas  and  Mattathias  stirred  up 
the  people  to  tear  down  the  Roman  eagle  from  the  temple  gate. 
The  history  of  the  War  of  A.D.  66-70  and  the  revolt  of  Bar  Cochba 
in  A.D.  132-5  is  a  repetition  of  the  same  thing,  and  in  these  cases 
the  suspicion  was  well  founded.43 

The  futility  of  this  physical  struggle  caused  others,  less  auda- 
cious but  equally  earnest,  to  postpone  in  their  expectations,  the 
coming  of  the  Kingdom  until  the  power  of  Jehovah  should  be 
cast  more  forcefully  into  the  fray.  Some  believed  that  this  Mes- 
sianic kingdom  would  sometime  be  established  'forever  on  the 
earth.44  It  is  difficult  to  differentiate  carefully  between  Jewish 
beliefs  which  deal  with  future  salvation.  Certain  elements  are 
occasionally  omitted  to  the  confusion  of  the  later  reader;  and 
sometimes  essentially  different  schemes  have  marked  points  of 
identity.  In  Charles'  estimation  there  are  at  least  two  docu- 
ments which  were  written  in  the  expectation  of  a  Messianic  king- 
dom being  established  permanently  upon  the  earth,  through  the 
intervention  of  Jehovah,  I  Enoch  1-36  (probably  before  170  B.C.) 
and  II  Maccabees  (60  B.C. — A.D.  1).  This  sort  of  solution  of  world 
problems  is  the  result  of  a  compromise  between  the  idea  of  a 


34  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

strictly  earthly  kingdom  and  thlat  of  a  state  of  resurrection  bliss 
for  the  individual.  As  attention  was  turned  more  and  more 
toward  the  future,  the  individual  became  more  prominent  until 
finally  the  group  and  its  'future  was  lost  sight  of. 

The  author  of  I  Enoch  1-36  started  on  the  basis  of  ethical 
conduct  as  the  key  to  a  man's  salvation.  Sin  is  in  the  world,  not 
because  of  Adam's  transgression,  but  because  of  the  activities  of 
the  fallen  angels  in  teaching  men  the  secrets  of  heaven.45  The 
judgment  of  the  flood  had  partially  atoned  for  this  sin,  but  evil 
was  carried  on  nevertheless  through  the  agency  of  demons.46 
This  sin  was  to  be  punished  at  the  last  judgment,  at  which  time 
the  souls  which  have  been  in  Sheol  rise,  some  to  everlasting  pun- 
ishment in  Gehenna,  some  to  the  eternal  Messianic  kingdom  on 
earth,47  whose  capital  is  Jerusalem.48  There  is  no  Messiah.  Na- 
ture was  expected  to  surpass  herself  in  prodigality.49  It  would 
seem  as  if  the  idea  of  punishment  had  received  considerable 
elaboration,  probably  because  of  the  actual  experiences  through 
which  the  Jews  were  passing.  Penalties  were  ex&cted  from  those 
who  offended  the  king.  Hence  salvation  from  future  punishment 
and  a  promise  of  life  to  those  who  were  continually  threatened 
with  death  became  the  greatest  hope.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  their 
faith  that  at  least  some  ethical  considerations  of  high  quality 
were  incorporated.50  The  presence  of  /a  hope  for  unlimited  pos- 
terity and  an  abundance  of  wine  and  food  is  the  recrudescence  of 
a  phase  of  nature  salvation,  transferred  to  the  future. 

II  Maccabees  has  not  a  great  deal  to  connect  it  directly  with 
the  conception  of  a  Messianic  kingdom  eternal  on  the  earth. 
There  is  some  allusion  however  to  a  favored  nation  and  the  return 
of  the  scattered  tribes.51  Also  the  Jews  had  been  established  for 
all  eternity.52.  The  ideas  concerning  the  resurrection  furnish 
most  of  the  data  necessary  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  picture. 
The  faithful  were  to  be  raised  to  an  eternal  life,53  of  the  physical 
body,54  in  /a  group  of  brethren.55  This  desire  for  a  group  salva- 
tion in  which  the  body  and  eternal  life  are  prominent  accords  well 
with  stories  of  the  physical  suffering  and  death  to  which  Jewish 
communities  were  subjected.  The  author  speaking  in  6:12-17 
would  interpret  their  torture  as  punishment,  but  for  the  sake  of 
its  redemptive  value,  while  with  the  Gentiles  it  was  the  opposite. 

The  allusions  to  a  temporary  Messianic  kingdom  on  the  earth 
became  more  frequent,  paralleling  a  growing  emphasis  on  indi- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  35 

vidualism  and  the  future,  and,  as  a  consequence,  a  growing  pessi- 
mism with  regard  to  the  present  world  order;  and  this  in  turn 
gave  greater  prominence  to  a  Messiah  for  the  reason  that  human 
power  was  being  less  highly  regarded.  The  idea  of  ja  kingdom  as 
a  guarantee  of  the  fulfillment  of  human  desires  was  fast  receding, 
and  with  it  many  of  the  physical  elements. 

The  Book  of  Jubilees  gives  a  very  early  reference  to  a  Mes- 
siah in  a  temporary  Messianic  kingdom.56  The  Messiah  hereto- 
fore hjas  belonged  to  the  earthly  kingdom  in  which  his  function 
as  savior  by  the  sword  is  easily  explained.57  In  IV  Ezra58  he  is 
pictured  as  coming  out  of  the  sea  for  his  reign  of  four  hundred 
years  after  which  he  and  his  followers  shall  die,59  and  after  this 
will  come  the  judgment  and  the  final  determination  of  destiny. 
The  kingdom  is  no  longer  the  means  of  salvation  nor  the  residence 
of  the  saved.  It  is  simply  held  over  ias  a  vestige  of  sacred  associa- 
tion but,  aside  from  that,  of  little  value.  II  Enoch  has  a  kingdom 
of  one  thousand  years  duration,60  but  no  Messiah,  as  is  also  the 
case  in  the  Assumption  of  Moses.61  The  kindness  of  mature,  al- 
luded to  before,  is  again  seen  in  IT  Baruch,62  and  in  II  Enoch. 

The  expectation  of  an  eternal  kingdom  in  a  new  earth  and  a 
new  heaven  marks  the  final  step  in  the  transition  from  the  desire 
and  trust  to  be  saved  in  the  midst  of  present  surroundings  to  the 
triumphant  despondency  of  a  pure  apocalypticism  in  which  the 
group  still  figures  somewhat  prominently.  The  tendency  to  look 
to  the  future  itself  tended  to  break  down  the  'hope  for  national 
salvation  and  to  substitute  the  claim  of  the  individual.  The  only 
Ijate  Jewish  document  which  pointed  forward  to  a  wholly  apoca- 
lyptic kingdom  and  consistently  avoided  pure  individualism  is 
I  Enoch  37-70.  The  Messiah  is  a  being  of  supernatural  order.63 
No  concern  is  paid  to  the  ordinary  desires  for  physical  resur- 
rection. The  author's  interest  is  Wholly  for  man's  spiritual  wel- 
fare. Sin  was  started  by  Satans,64  and  transmitted  to  mjan 
through  the  spirit  powers  let  loose  in  the  world.  The  Messiah, 
as  champion  of  man's  spiritual  salvation,  sweeps  away  all  that 
will  hinder  him.65  Heaven  and  eatrth  are  changed  into  fit  abodes 
for  the  righteous.66  Although  in  one  place,67  it  appears  that  both 
righteous  and  sinners  are  to  be  raised,  it  is  clear  that  only  the 
righteous  are  raised  "that  they  should  be  saved".  The  pessimism 
of  IV  Ezra  is  even  deeper.  He  feels  that  only  a  few  will  be  saved, 


36  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

and    "God   will   not    grieve    over    the    multitude    of    men   that 
perish '  '.68 

The  main  lines  of  Jewish  thought  about  the  religious  task  of 
salvation  have  been  suggested  with  more  or  less  clearness.  It 
has  been  seen  that  there  has  been  a  somewhat  steady  progression 
from  a  belief  that  by  God 's  help  Israel  might  make  herself  worthy 
of  eternal  domination  of  the  world,  to  'a  thorough-going  pes- 
simism which  turned  from  this  earth  to  the  new  one,  tand  from  the 
nation  to  the  individual.  The  retention  of  a  temporary  kingdom 
of  one  kind  or  another  was  merely  a  concession  to  views  long 
entertained.  The  dissolution  of  national  hopes  was  registered 
in  this  fact,  in  spite  of  the  Maccabaejan  and  other  revolts. 

But  our  study  of  Judaism  wTould  'hardly  be  complete  without 
some  treatment  of  the  by-products  of  the  development  of  national 
toward  individual  interests.  The  belief  in  the  resurrection  was 
greatly  amplified  in  this  process.  Apparently  in  the  first  stages 
of  thought  the  resurrection  was  not  necessary  as  )a  part  of  the 
national  program ;  it  was  enough  that  the  nation  should  continue 
to  live  on  earth.  Later  it  became  essential,  for  since  present  hope 
had  been  abandoned,  how  else  could  the  harried  children  of 
Israel  have  faith  in  a  saving  God?  The  righteous  must  needs 
rise  in  order  to  carry  on  the  aims  of  the  nation  in  the  new  world. 
Another  aspect  of  the  resurrection  idea  arose  out  of  the  abandon- 
ment of  group  ideals  and  reached  its  culmination  in  the  greatly 
elaborated  theory  of  individual  resurrection.  The  variations  of 
the  doctrine  are  many  depending  somewhat  upon  the  inclusion 
of  diversified  elements :  bodily,  spiritual,  of  righteous  and  of  sin- 
ners, or  of  the  righteous  alone.69 

Doing  the  will  of  God  was  the  means  of  winning  his  saving 
help ;  and  ethics  and  legalism  were  the  two  forms  which  this  ac- 
tion took.  Both  were  assiduously  cultivated  by  the  most  pious 
in  complete  confidence  thiat  the  outcome  would  be  favorable.70 
As  has  already  been  observed,  the  early  ideas  about  the  meaning  of 
ethics  were  conceived  with  a  purely  temporal  situation.  The 
current  Jewish  ideas  were  simply  that  Jehovah  would  bless  with 
earthly  peace  and  prosperity  those  who  observed  his  will.  The 
dead  went  to  Sheol,  where  good  and  bad  alike  experienced  iatn 
uncertain  immortality.  But  late  Judaism  thought  of  the  future 
as  a  time  of  judgment,  rewards  and  penalties,  based  on  the  con- 
duct on  earth.  Again  the  institutions  of  the  time  serve  as  the 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  37; 

models  after  which  the  future  was  fiaishioned.  Social  control, 
in  so  far  as  it  was  effected  by  the  government  in  its  various  forms, 
was  made  through  the  establishment  of  codes  of  law  regulating 
conduct,  of  courts  of  justice,  where  guilt  or  innocence  was  de- 
termined, and  of  penal  agencies  which  carried  the  judgment 
to  completion.  So  it  was  in  the  divine  guidance  of  the  whole 
world.  In  the  belief  of  future  retribution,  the  motivation  is 
to  be  traced  back  to  several  factors,  prominent  among  which  is 
the  observation  that  the  righteous  were  not  all  prosperous  and 
the  wicked  were  not  all  abased.  This  confusing  realization  is 
the  chief  problem  of  Job.  If  justice  is  not  reckoned  here,  how 
does  God  show  his  saving  power?  The  only  solution  which  sat- 
isfied the  Jews  who  asked  the  question  was  the  theory  of  post- 
poned justice.  They  saved  the  theory  of  divinely  given  salvation 
by  deferring  the  date  of  its  appearance.  Legalism,  while  not 
entirely  disassociated  from  ethics,  nevertheless  grows  out  of  a 
different  conception.  It  is  not  necessarily  concerned  with  justice, 
but  with  debt  and  obligation.  Jehovah  will  remit  the  penalty 
if  he  is  ple/ased  with  the  faithful  presentation  of  respect  and 
honor,  such  as  an  Oriental  monarch  might  expect.  Regular 
offerings,  punctilious  visitations,  decorous  behavior,  and  im- 
maculate garb,  all  are  calculated  to  mitigate  the  unfavorable 
judgment  which  otherwise  would  be  brought  upon  the  undeserv- 
ing subjects.  A  further  elaboration  mjade  the  will  of;  God 
accessible  through  Wisdom.  In  many  instances,  at  least,  if  not 
in  all,  the  prominence  given  to  wisdom  was  due  to  contact  with 
non-Jewish  culture.  For  instance,  IV  Maccabees  is  an  exposition 
of  Stoicism  as  seen  by  Jewish  eyes.  The  passions  are  to  be 
checked  by  Reason,71  not  excised  as  the  Greeks  thought.  In  the 
Wisdom  of  Solomon,72  wisdom  is  mentioned  as  if  it  wias  the  sine 
qua  non  of  salvation.  Considerable  deviation  from  the  conven- 
tional Jewish  beliefs  is  present  and  as  a  consequence,  the  striking 
dramatic  features  of  the  more  characteristic  salvation  teaching 
is  missing. 

The  growing  dualism,  which  accompanied  Israel's  declining 
nationalism  and  her  growing  apocalypticism,  found  part  of  its 
expression  in  an  elaborated  demonology.  These  evil  spirits  were 
in  some  way  associated  with  the  sin  and  transciency  of  the  earth. 
They  harassed  mankind  and  were  themselves  held  in  check  by 
the  good  spirits  representing  the  other  side  of  the  dualism.  Little 


38  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

trace  of  this  belief  is  to  be  seen  in  the  classic  literature  of  the 
Jewish  people,  as  is  the  case  in  the  corresponding  literature  of 
Greek  life.  There  tare,  it  is  clear,  miany  references  to  angels 
who  are  the  auxiliary  forces  of  Heaven.  Furthermore,  there  are 
urnnistakjable  evidences  of  belief  in  troubling  demons  in  the  Old 
Testament,  as,  for  instance,  in  Job.73  Even  the  Eden-temptation 
seems  to  point  toward  demonolgy.  It  must  be  noted,  also,  that 
monotheism  would  rather  in  many  cases  credit  Jehovah  with 
being  the  sponsor  of  evil  spirits,  than  lessen  the  rigidity  of  its 
position.74  There  can  be  no  disputing  that  even  in  the  Old 
Testament  there  is  shown  a  concern  for  freedom  from  evil  influ- 
ence of  spirit  powers. 

As  one  turns  to  the  later  literature,  in  which  are  freely  ex- 
pressed the  common  opinions  of  the  ia»verage  Jew,  there  are 
abundant  out-croppings  of  the  popular  belief  in  demons  and  an 
accompanying  desire  to  be  released  from  their  oppression.  The 
story  of  Tobit  gains  much  of  its  interest  from  the  account  of 
the  overcoming  of  the  evil-spirit  or  demon,75  which  had  killed 
the  seven  husbands  of  Sarah  and  threatened  Tobias.  The  angel 
Raphael,  on  the  other  hand,  plays  the  role  o'f  a  helper  of  devout 
men.  I  Enoch  provides  a  great  deal  of  material  relating  to  de- 
monology  and  angelology.  The  offspring  of  the  fallen  watchers 
of  heaven  and  the  "daughters  of  men"  are,  in  the  mind  of  the 
author  of  the  first  section  of  the  book,76evil  spirits  and  the 
cause  of  evil  among  men.  The  author  of  the  second  section 
pushed  back  the  cause  of  man's  distress  to  the  Satians,  whose 
functions  as  tormentors  were:  1)  to  tempt  men  to  do  evil,77  2) 
to  accuse  men  before  God,78  3)  to  punish  the  condemned.79  The 
plain  implication  is  that  part  of  man's  individual  salvation 
must  be  from  the  demons.  The  Testaments  of  the  XII  contain 
such  statements  as  this :  "  If  you  do  well,  even  the  unclean  spirits 
will  flee  from  you".80  Josephus  reflects  a  type  of  Judaism  of 
the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  which  is  significant,  chief- 
ly because  of  his  position  in  the  ranks  of  culture.  His  imagi- 
nation was  apparently  not  fevered  by  apocalyptic  hopes.  Yet 
he  reveals  a  profound  belief  in  the  actuality  of  spirit  powers. 
In  Antiquities  8.  2.  5  he  says  that  God  taught  Solomon  "the 
art  of  opposing  the  demons  for  the  succor  and  healing  of  men. 
So  that  he  (Solomon)  composed  incantations,  by  which  sickness 
o(f  all  sorts  is  assuaged;  and  left  to  posterity  methods  of  exorcis- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  39 

ing And  this  system  still  prevails  among  us".     While 

Philo  does  not  commit  himself  to  a  belief  in  demons  like  thlat 
popularly  held,  he  indicates  that  there  is  a  widespread  belief 
in  them.81 

The  query  may  now  be  raised  as  to  the  effect  the  Dispersion 
had  on  the  typical  beliefs  of  the  Jews.  It  has  been  noted  that 
some  of  the  literature  of  the  Exile  reflects  a  broadened  concep- 
tion of  universal  salvation.  Under  the  stress  of  local  and  tem- 
porary persecutions,  such  as  the  Palestinian  and  Alexandrian 
Jews  experienced,  this  was  narnowed  down  to  a  picturesque 
national  salvation  on  earth  or  in  the  new  earth  and  new  heaven, 
or  an  individualistic  salvation  effected  by  litenal  resurrection. 
On  the  whole,  the  wide  dissemination  of  Jews  over  the  world 
did  not  of  itself  greatly  alter  the  regular  views  regarding  their 
religious  hopes.  Jerusalem  was  the  center  toward  which  all 
eyes  looked  and  the  beliefs  which  had  gone  out  from  the  Mother 
City  were  sustained  by  the  common  'faith  of  all  Judaism.  It 
is  true  that  in  some  localities  pagan  ideas  gained  a  secure  place 
in  the  minds  of  earnest  Jews.82  Philo  was  greatly  influenced 
by  the  Greek  thought  of 'his  day,  but  he  by  no  means  gave  up 
his  love  for  the  Jewish  life  and  institutions,  as  his  mission  to 
Caius  at  Borne  indicates.  In  those  localities  in  which  the  Jews 
lived  unmolested  in  a  life  of  comparative  prosperity,  it  can  hard- 
ly be  expected  that  the  more  radical  beliefs  which  had  originated 
in  times  of  great  stress  should  continue  to  be  emphasized.  Not 
only  so,  but  the  fundamental  theory  of  salvation,  for  instance, 
might  theoretically  be  modified.  If,  as  Bousset  and  others 
maintain,  Paul  was  actually  influenced  by  Graeco-Roman  the- 
ology, the  /alteration  iof  Jewish  soteriology  would  have  at  least 
one  clear  example,  though  Paul's  break  with  regular  Judaism, 
might  partially  destroy  its  significance.83 

There  is  not  enough  uniformity  in  the  Jewish  conceptions 
of  salvation  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  there  was  anything 
inherently  peculiar  to  that  religion  which  determined  the  forms 
that  it  took  relative  to  certain  great  problems  of  life.  There 
was  no  secularity  as  opposed  to  religion.  Both  were  merged  in 
the  common  life  of  the  people.  The  government  was  associated 
with  the  worship;  and  the  distresses  <of  every  day  life  were 
united  with  the  highest  spiritual  hopes.  From  time  to  time  as 


40  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

certain  interests  gained  a  controlling  position,  the  older  hopes 
were  re-molded  by  the  use  of  new  'forms  into  usable  beliefs  and 
promises.  It  would  be  futile  to  try  to  understand  what  the  Jews 
really  meant  by  what  they  said  in  regard  to  their  expectation 
of  Salvation  without  at  the  same  time  determining  what  were 
the  social  institutions  within  which  they  were  living. 

In  the  surviving  literature  of  the  Jewrs  the  idea  of  a  group 
salvation  is  predominant.  The  experiences  of  the  group  func- 
tioned as  the  stimuli  which  prompted  the  erection  of  a  theory 
of  salvation  and  also  determined  what  form  the  expected  sal- 
vation would  take.  The  solidarity  of  the  clan,  tribe,  federation, 
or  nlation,  continually  brought  forward  the  administrative  means 
by  which  the  group  aims  were  to  be  achieved.  Thus  allegiance 
to  a  king  and  god  land  fair  dealings  with  neighbors  were  the 
approach  to  collective  ends,  both  in  ordinary  life  or  in  the  future 
life  of  the  ideal  kingdom.  Under  such  circumstances  it  was 
hardly  possible  that  a  salvation  idea  based  on  the  quality  of 
a  substance  or  essence  could  assume  any  prominence.  The  earlier 
idea  of  sacrifice  which  attributed  to  the  offering  a  magical 
quality  or  virtue  that  might  be  transmitted  to  the  participant, 
gave  way,  under  the  pressure  of  social  relationships  with  the 
god,  to  the  understanding  of  sacrifice  as  a  gift  to  the  god  designed 
to  render  him  favorable.  Man,  in  the  first  instance,  actually 
ate  his  god,  and  gtained  saving  power  from  his  repast;  later 
he  iate  with  his  god  and  put  his  deity  under  obligation  to  him 
by  virtue  of  that  'fact ;  or  he  offered  some  pleasing  viand  to  his 
god,  who  then  would  be  willing  to  assist.84 

The  tabu  regulations,  known  to  us  in  Bibical  language  as 
"clean  and  unclean",  "holy  and  unholy",  are  strictly  of  the 
essence  type.  It  was  supposed  that  certain  objects  possessed, 
either  permanently  or  transiently,  a  certain  magic  power  which 
might  be  transferred  by  contact.  Unclean  objects  gave  a  taint 
removable  only  by  'Counter-iapplications  of  cleansing  solutions. 
Holy  objects  also  were  dangerous  to  the  welfare  of  the  ordinary 
person  and  needed  to  be  guarded  against  by  avoiding  contact, 
or,  if  that  was  not  possible,  the  transferred  power  was  to  be 
removed  by  some  magical  solvent.85  In  spite  oif  the  prominence 
of  regulations  dealing  with  clean  and  unclean,  holy  and  unholy, 
the  idea  of  magic  and  iof  powers  resident  in  objects  which  could 
be  controlled  by  direct  and  impersonal  means  did  not  prevail 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  41 

(against  the  characteristic  thought  of  Jewish  religion  which  made 
all  ends  obtainable  through  personal  conduct  in  relation  to  a 
god  of  personal-power,  not  of  substance-power.86 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  there  was  no  doctrine  or 
dogma  of  salvation  as  such  in  Judaism.  But  it  is  equally  clear 
that  there  were  niany  hopes  for  salvation  and  many  ways  in 
which  salvation  was  expected  to  come,  and  each  ione  determined 
by  the  situation  in  which  the  people  found  themselves.  There 
were  quests  for  salvation,  not  a  quest.  On  the  Whole  the  Jewish 
solution  off  the  problem,  the  technique  of  salvation,  was  built 
upon  the  experience  of  personal  relations.  This  accounts  for 
the  ethical  quality  of  the  religious  faith  land  practice,  and  the 
diversity  of  means  and  agencies  by  which  the  desired  ends  were 
secured.  The  utter  need  of  the  people  was  sufficient  proof  that 
help  would  come.  This  was  the  very  heart  of  the  religious  faith. 


42  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

CHAPTER  III. 
GRAECO-ROMiAN  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION. 

The  Greek  and  Roman  religions  are  known  to  modern  minds 
in  various  guises.  Generally  a  more  or  less  uniform  mythology 
relating  the  eseaplades  of  deities  suffices  as  a  description  of  the 
combined  Greek  and  Roman  religions.  But  in  point  of  fact, 
the  religions  of  the  Greeks  and  of  the  Romans  were  quite  different 
from  one  another  in  their  origins  and  outward  forms  and  should 
not  be  equated.  And  furthermore,  the  formal  religions 
were  somewhat  unrelated  to  ordinary  human  afifrairs.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  an  examination  of  the  unconventional  expressions 
of  faith  must  be  entered  upon,  if  one  would  ascertain  the  real 
religious  motives  of  the  times.  Such  a  study  has  been  made 
in  Jane  Harrison's  Prolegomena  to  the  Study  of  Greek  Religion, 
in  which  is  made  clear  the  universal  desire  of  the  Greeks  to 
-secure  safety  and  betterment  of  condition  in  one  way  or  another. 
Men  pictured  their  environing  world  in  terms  of  spirit  powers 
which  were  responsible  for  all  things,  Whether  good  or  bad. 
By  the  aid  of  some,  they  sought  release  from  others ;  and  thus  all 
the  wishes  of  life  were  mingled  in  a  vast  undifferentiated  accre- 
tion of  salvation  ideas.  The  dearth  of  scientific  anlalyses  of  causal 
phenomena  was  matched  by  a  wealth  of  religious  explanations 
and  formulae  by  which  desired  ends  might  be  reached ;  and  simi- 
larly, no  distress  was  so  fixed  or  irremediable  that  it  could  not  be 
altered  under  certain  circumstances. 

It  is  not  a  part  of  the  present  study  to  outline  the  thought  of 
Greek  life  chronologically  in  terms  of  salvation  interests.  The 
variation  and  complexity  of  the  materials  would,  in  that  case, 
compel  a  more  detailed  study  to  be  undertaken.  It  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  analyze  the  characteristic  solutions  of  the  problem 
of  salvlation  which  were  being  offered  by  Gentile  religions  and  re- 
ligious movements  in  the  period  which  is  practically  contempo- 
raneous with  the  rise  of  the  Christian  movement.  The  individual- 
istic mind  was  expressed  in  the  mystery  religions  and  in  the  popu- 
lar philosophies  of  the  day ;  while  the  collective  interests  generally 
were  objectified  through  emperor  worship.  These  different  types 
of  thought  were  blended  in  the  social  complex,  yet  for  conven- 
ience 's  sake,  they  may  be  studied  separately  in  order  to  show  the 
ways  in  which  the  quest  'for  salvation  Was  carried  on. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  43 

The  Mystery  Religions. 

When  the  nationalism  of  the  then-known  world  was  broken 
down  by  the  efforts  which  Alexander  the  Great  and  his  successors 
put  forth  in  the  direction  of  a  great  empire,  there  disappeared 
also  the  distinct  forms  of  the  national  religions  which  were  then  in 
existence.  They  were  succeeded  |by  a  number  of  faiths  which 
were  somewhat  similar  in  origin  and  early  form,  as  well  as  in 
their  later  'form  and  function.  These  "mystery  religions"  met 
many  of  the  demands  which  a  growing  individualism  was  forcing 
upon  the  religious  consciousness  of  the  times.  The  sense  of  per- 
sonal weakness  was  also  intensified  by  these  beliefs. 

The  supremacy  of  Rome  was  undisputed  chiefly  in  matters  of 
arms  and  legions,  but  she  gladly  welcomed  assistance  even  in  her 
army.  It  was  in  the  imatter  of  religion  however  that  she  was 
overwhelmed  and  transformed  by  foreign  thought  and  practice. 
Her  own  tfaith  did  not  have  the  quality  of  adaptability  which 
was  necessary  to  make  it  meet  all  the  needs  of  the  heterogeneous 
mass  which  was  coming  under  the  sway  of  her  authority.  The  en- 
larging bounds  of  the  Empire  were  constantly  incorporating  a 
greater  variety  of  beliefs,  and  within  the  nation  there  was  going 
on  a  continuous  intermixture  and  development  to  meet  the  needs 
of  a  porportionately  diversified  society.  The  net  result  of  this 
process  was  that  even  before  the  time  the  Empire  reached  its 
height  of  power,  Roman  citizens  in  unlimited  numbers  were  seek- 
ing their  personal  salvation  in  the  service  of  the  mystery  religions. 

Without  exception,  these  cults  may  be  traced  back  to  soime 
form  of  nature  worship,  and  consequently  to  an  early  stage  in  hu- 
man social  development.  The  seasonal  character  of  the  worship  of 
the  Cybele-Attis,  Demeter-Persephone,  and  Dionysus  cults  indi- 
cates a  primitive  concern  for  the  return  of  seed-time  and  harvest. 
The  identification  of  other  gods  with  solar  deities  points  in  the 
same  general  direction.  Primitive  man  sought  to  make  himself 
safe  through  the  maintenance  of  friendly  relations  between  him- 
self and  the  gods  of  nature.  He  observed  the  regularity  of  the  cy- 
cles of  the  seasons,  and  this  he  attributed  to  the  benevolence  of 
some  god.  He  knew  no  scientific  reason  for  the  recurrence  of  the 
seasons,  but  his  naive  explanation  was  quite  as  real  and  workable 
in  his  system  of  thought  as  science  in  the  modern  world.  As  long 
as  man's  interest  was  not  turned  from  nature  processes,  the  cult 
worship  was  genuinely  a  religion  of  nlature.  The  complication  of 


44  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

the  social  structure  introduced  other  elements  of  importance. 
The  competition  of  two  groups  for  the  same  resources  joined  an 
interest  for  the  destruction  of  the  opposing  group  to  the  interest 
for  gain  of  food,  shelter,  etc.  The  god  of  nature  became  also  a 
god  of  the  tribe  or  nation.  And  in  time  the  earlier  values  were 
retained  chiefly  as  symbols  of  new  interests.1 

Apparently  the  primitive  nature  religions  were  lying  in  a  qui- 
escent state  during  the  classical  period  of  Greece  as  far  as  the 
literary  remains  of  that  time  are  concerned.  The  demands  of 
culture  tended  to  repress  all  expressions  of  crude  primitivity. 
When  later  the  chaotic  condition  of  affairs  stimulated  an  interest 
in  individual  immortality,  the  earlier  nature  religions  became  fit 
symbols  for  the  expression  of  man's  hope  in  the  renewal  of  life. 
The  dying  and  rising  god  was  no  longer  the  reappearance  of  na- 
ture 's  life  but  the  earnest  of  human  immortality. 

The  forms  which  these  religions  took  on  were  in  general  quite 
similar,  though  the  details  were  very  varied.  They  came  from 
different  localities  and  registered  the  interests  of  their  early  de- 
votees, at  the  same  time  acquiring  new  features  as  the  problem  of 
salvation  shifted  and  altered.  This  can  best  be  seen  in  a  brief 
review  of  the  chief  representatives  of  the  mystery  religions.2 

The  Eleusinian  cult  of  Demeter  iand  Persephone  was  promi- 
nent as  a  Grecian  religion,  whatever  may  have  been  its  origin.  Dt 
centered  about  the  familiar  story  of  the  mother  Demeter  and  her 
daughter  Persephone.  The  latter  is  carried  away  to  the  under- 
world to  become  the  wif  e  of  Pluto.  She  is  allowed  to  return  to  the 
upper  world  for  part  of  each  year,  else  the  mother  would  withhold 
life  from  nature.  This  myth  plainly  reveals  a  nature  salvation. 
From  springtime  till  harvest  was  the  welcome  stay  of  Persephone 
on  elarth;  the  bleak  winter  represented  her  departure  to  Hades. 
When  immortality  became  the  special  object  of  human  hopes, 
Demeter  was  said  to  have  counseled  men  to  observe  her  rites  if 
they  wished  to  obtain  life  everlasting. 

These  rites  were  not  discussed  openly  and  for  the  most  part 
are  lost.  Ritual  purification  was  a  part  of  the  procedure.  Finally 
came  the  culmination  of  the  initiation,  the  drama  of  the  cult, 
which  portrayed  pictorially  the  secret  of  the  redemptive  transac- 
tion, if  cautious  conjectures  are  at  all  correct.  The  object  was 
to  impress  emotionally  the  newly  admitted  candidate  and  to  give 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  45 

him   certainty   of  his   own   participation  in   the   life-giving   ex- 
perience. 

By  the  opening  of  the  Christian  era  this  cult  was  widespread 
and  flourishing.  It  had  originally  been  the  state  religion  of  Ath- 
ens, though  later  it  lost  this  distinction  under  pressure  of  its 
popularity.  It  was  not  without  competitors  on  Greek  soil,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  the  Dionysaic  and  Orphic  cults.  These 
are  to  be  characterized  as  nature  religions  even  more  than  the 
Eleusinian  cult,  though  they  embody  no  significant  differentiating 
feature.  Dionysus  (Bacchus),  a  Thracian  god  of  the  vine  and 
wine,  possessed  the  devotee  through  the  power  of  intoxication, 
and  thus  gave  proof  of  his  ability  to  save  to  future  life.  The 
Orphic  cult,  worshipping  Dionysus,  under  the  name  of  Zagreus, 
incorporated  a  considerable  element  of  speculation  to  temper  the 
crudity  of  its  ntature  worship  land  at  the  same  time  developed  a 
system  of  compulsion  of  the  deity.  These  two  forms  o<f  religion 
had  widespread  influence,  though  they  did  not  maintain  their 
individuality  as  did  the  cult  of  Demeter  -and  Persephone. 

The  influence  of  the  Egyptian  Isis-Osiris-Serapis  cult  in 
Graeco-Roman  life  was  quite  pronounced,  even  at  <an  early  time. 
The  desire  of  the  Ptolemies  to  blend  the  Greek  iand  Egyptian  sub- 
jects by  means  of  a  religion  acceptable  to  both  groups,  was  in  all 
probability,  one  of  the  factors  which  determined  the  form  of  the 
cult  in  the  third  century  B.  C.3  But  the  reason  of  its  spread  to 
other  lands  is  to  be  explained,  not  on  the  basis  of  political  ambi- 
tions, but  rather  on  the  grounds  of  it  offering  a  definite  promise  of 
individual  immortality. 

•Osiris,  later  known  as  Serapis,  w>as  a  beneficient  Egyptian 
king,4  who  suffered  a  violent  death  at  the  hands  of  Typhon.  Isis,' 
his  sister-wife,  sought  his  membra  ctisiecta.  When  these  were 
restored  to  life,  Isis  and  Osiris  were  elevated  to  the  rank  of  im- 
mortal gods.5  Every  one  who  longed  for  assurance  of  the  after 
life,  observed  the  rites  of  the  cult,  inspired  by  the  promise:  "As 
truly  as  Osiris  lives,  he  also  shall  live;  as  truly  as  Osiris  is  not 
dead,  sh(all  he  not  die ;  las  truly  as  Osiris  is  not  annihilated,  shall 
he  not  be  annihilated."6 

The  Phrygian  cult  of  Cybele-Attis  was  well  known  at  Rome 
from  204-5  B.  C.  onwards,  when  the  sacred  stone  of  the  Magna 
Mater  was  placed  on  the  Palatine.  The  hope  that  her  presence 
might  give  victory  to  Rome  against  Hannibal  wias  fulfilled,  and 


46  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

due  honor  was  given  to  the  goddess,  though  not  until  after  the 
time  of  the  republic  was  her  worship  given  free  reign. 

The  Phrygians,  who  came  from  Thrace,  blended  their  religion 
with  that  of  their  new  home.  Thus  the  nature  god  Dionysus  was 
transformed  into  Attis,  and  he  in  turn  was  associated  with  the 
nature  goddess  Cybele.  Further  identifications  were  msade,  as 
diffeernt  cults  were  assimilated,  but  without  effecting  any  con- 
siderable change.  In  accordance  with  the  general  development 
of  nature  religions,  the  main  interest  ceased  to  be  desire  for  the 
return  of  vegetation,  and  became  the  promise  df  immortal  life. 

The  myth  of  Cybele  and  Attis  tells  of  the  death  of  Attis 
through  a  wound  inflicted  by  an  enemy  or  else  by  self -mutilation, 
the  mourning  of  the  mother-goddess,  and  finally  the  resurrection 
of  Attis  to  the  position  of  deity.  By  imitation  of  the  life  of  the 
god,  the  devotee  believed  that  he  would  be  born  anew  to  the  life 
of  the  future.  "Take  courage,  oh  mystics,  because  the  god  is 
saved ;  and  we  shall  have  salvation  from  our  trials. '  '7 

The  religions  which  came  from  Syria  do  not  have  the  same  dis- 
tinctness that  some  of  the  other  cults  have.  The  influence  of  the 
Babylonian  Ishtar  and  Tammuz  011  them  is  unmistakable.  The 
names  may  be  changed  to  Ashtart  and  Eshmun,  or  Aphrodite  and 
Adonis,  without  essentially  altering  the  nature  of  the  cult.  Also 
the  worship  of  Atargatis  and  Hadad  had  the  same  general  char- 
acter. In  all  cases  we  may  see  a  form  of  religion  in  which  the 
reverence  'for  life  has  been  transferred  from  its  manifestations  in 
nature  to  its  perpetuation  as  the  life  of  the  soul.  Commercial 
enterprises  contributed  largely  to  the  dissemination  of  these 
phases  of  religion,  and  they  carried  with  them  into  the  Occi- 
dent a  considerable  amount  of  astrology  by  means  of  which  the 
characteristic  pessimism  of  Semitic  thought  was  lightened,  not 
without  meeting  other  handicaps,  however.  The  typical  Semitic 
beliefs  regarding  the  future  are  by  no  means  cheerful  or  reassur- 
ing. The  life  to  come  is  a  litfe  of  the  * '  shades '  \  only  a  reflection 
of  whiat  had  been  experienced.  Under  the  influence  of  Oriental 
astrology,  however,  there  was  a  promise  held  out  that  the  soul 
might  escape  its  ceaseless  rounds  under  the  spell  of  the  stars,  and 
obtain  a  life  like  that  of  the  stars  themselves.  Determinism,  the 
logical  outcome  of  the  system,  would  have  destroyed  all  possi- 
bility of  salvation,  if  the  desire  for  redemption  had  not  been 
strong  enough  in  \actual  practice  to  check  its  full  development. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  47 

Mithraism,  however,  was  more  fully  saturated  with  astrology 
than  were  the  other  cults.  It  possessed  the  usual  dualism  of 
Persian  thought  due  probably  to  sharp  geographical,  climatic  and 
social  contrasts ;  and  it  wias  this  feature  which  functioned  as  an 
effective  medium  in  presenting  a  positive  hope  in  the  ultimate 
victory  of  light  and  virtue  over  darkness  and  evil.  The  two 
extremes  were  pictured  in  vigorous  opposition  both  in  the  pres- 
ent and  in  the  future.  Mithra  was  the  leader  of  the  host  olf  good, 
and  hence  savior  of  men.  The  erstwhile  god  of  light  became  the 
god  of  moral  vigor  and  purity.  The  conflict  suggested  by  the 
duialism  of  the  system  tended  to  introduce  a  quality  of  austerity 
not  attained  by  other  cults.  The  development  of  the  character 
of  Mithra  followed  also  the  other  lines  suggested  by  the  dualistic 
system.  Mithra  was  the  enemy  of  all  evil  demons,  the  leader  of 
the  good.  Man 's  task  was  to  throw  himself  on  the  side  of  Mithra, 
but  even  in  this  act  he  was  not  self-sufficient;  Mithra  must  help 
him.  "M'ayest  thou  keep  us  in  both  worlds,  0  Mithra,  lord  of 
wide  pastures !  both  in  this  material  world  in  the  world  of  spirit, 
from  the  fiend  of  Death,  from  the  fiend  of  Aeshma,  from  the 
fiendish  hordes  that  lift  up  the  spear  of  havoc,  and  from  the 
onsets  of  Aeshma."8  Mithra 's  function  as  a  leader  seems  early 
to  have  ^assumed  equal  or  even  greater  prominence  than  that  of 
a  dying  and  rising  god  though  the  art  and  ritual  carried  along 
by  the  cult  preserved  the  record  of  ia  genuine  interest  in  this  phase 
of  the  god's  meaning  to  his  worshippers. 

These  religions  of  the  Graeco-Roman  world  were  not  preserved 
in  unvarying  forms,  for  they  did  not  develop  an  authority  and 
infallibility  dependent  upon  an  original  model.  As  suggested 
above,  they  assimilated  kindred  cults  without  losing  any  of  their 
individual  force.  But  'aside  from  the  admixture  of  similar  faiths, 
there  went  on  <also  a  mingling  d£  various  other  phases  of  religious 
thought  less  closely  related.  This  may  be  seen  in  the  increasing 
prevalence  of  magic,  astrology  and  demonology,  as  theories  by 
which  were  explained  many,  if  not  fall,  the  phenomena  of  ex- 
perience. 

Magic  reflects  a  very  primitive  religion  and  consequently  a 
very  simple  state  of  society.  Astrology,  on  the  'other  hand,  re- 
flects a  definitely  localized  authority  and  control.  The  clear  East- 
ern sky  giave  an  opportunity  for  men  to  observe  the  unchanging 
courses  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  The  monarchial  ideal  of  govern- 


48  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

ment  joined  with  these  observations  in  producing  a  theory  of 
divine  control.  Under  the  spell  of  astrological  thought  the 
gloomy  and  hazy  future  exitsence  in  the  underworld  in  whose 
doubtful  pleasures  all  were  to  share  alike;  was  transformed  into 
a  dual  world,  in  which  those  worthy  of  being  saved  should  enjoy 
the  bright  glory  of  the  heavens  forever  and  the  lost  should  be 
confined  to  the  realm  of  torture  below.  The  monarchial  practice 
of  rewarding  and  punishing  subjects  is  here  reflected  in  t?he 
theodicy  of  religious  belief 

Many  theories  of  salvation  have  been  greatly  affected  by  these 
two  features,  1)  the  observation  of  the  fixity  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  and  2)  the  methods  of  social  control  adopted  by  an  auto- 
cratic government.  Each  fosters  a  belief  in  the  inflexibility  of 
destiny,  and  the  latter  a  theory  of  justice  based  011  rewards  and 
punishments. 

Demonology  was  quite  at  home  in  the  midst  of  such  beliefs. 
Compulsion  of  spirit  powers,  (and  magic  and  astrology  involved 
all  this)  was  logically  adopted  as  an  expedient  calculated  to  rem- 
edy the  ills  of  man.  Thus  the  typical  soteriology  which  was  ex- 
pressed positively  as  identification  with  the  immortal  god,  had 
its  obverse  side  in  the  desire  to  be  free  from  the  domination  of 
malignant  godlets  who  were  responsible  both  here  and  hereafter 
for  every  form  of  distress  which  afflicted  man.9 

Gnosticism,  which  is  most  familiar  to  modern  students  as  an 
heretical  tendency  in  second  century  Christianity,  is  a  develop- 
ment of  the  magic  and  mythology  of  a  much  earlier  period.  In 
spite  of  the  philosophical  elements  which  early  Christian  oppo- 
nents saw  in  Gnosticism,  it  was  essentially  a  scheme  of  redemption 
based  on  the  compulsion  of  deity  and  the  desire  for  release  from 
an  impure  world.  A  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of  heaven  would 
guarantee  man  a  safe  passage  in  the  world  to  come.  Apparently 
there  was  little  if  any  thought  of  moral  obligation  on  the  part  of 
the  believer.10 

Without  exception,  the  foregoing  expressions  of  religion  may 
be  called  quests  for  salvation  and  as  such  they  functioned  in  the 
period  oifi  their  prominence.  They  did  not  possess  any  outward 
uniformity,  any  commonly  accepted  system  of  theology,  though 
it  would  not  be  inaccurate  to  say  that  there  are  certain  funda- 
mental characteristics  which  underlie  them.11  This  fact  is  no 
where  more  clearly  seen  than  in  their  claim  to  offer  salvation  to 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  49 

humanity,  a  salvation  varying  greatly  in  its  outward  aspects 
but  in  all  cases  based  on  the  recognition  of  man's  inability  to  save 
himself  and  on  the  possibility  of  securing  the  advantage  of  divine 
help.  In  this  particular,  religion  was  only  registering  the  charac- 
teristic feeling  of  the  age.  There  was  ia  limited  number  who  felt 
that  man  possessed  the  power  within  himself  to  work  out  his 
own  salvation,  but  on  account  of  the  universal  disorder  in  govern- 
ment and  society,  there  wias  little  self-confidence  expressed,  and 
relief  was  sought  in  the  direction  of  some  powerful  super-man,  a 
god  who  had  had  a  human  experience  and  hence  was  sympathetic, 
or  a  ruler  who  was  sent  from  heaven  to  correct  human  ills.12 

The  mystery  religions,  deriving  their  motive  from  the  field  of 
general  experience,  were  as  a  consequence  religions  of  redemption 
in  contrast  with  religions  of  attainment,  though  it  is  true  that 
there  were  frequent  compromises  between  the  two.13  Even  Gnos- 
ticism, which  because  of  the  prominence  it  gives  to  "knowledge" 
might  on  a  priori  grounds  seem  to  possess  the  qualities  of  the  at- 
tainment religion,  viewed  its  source  of  power  as  coming  directly 
from  heaven  as  a  saving  revelation  and  not  as  the  reward  of  hu- 
man effort.  It  followed  quite  consistently  the  lines  marked  out 
by  the  traditional  religions  of  redemption.14 

The  earlier  nature  cults,  out  of  which  the  mysteries  grew,  had 
long  since  lost  their  original  apppeal,  though  reminiscences  are  by 
no  means  infrequent,  For  instance,  the  prominence  given  to  the 
corn-ear,  the  pine,  'an  animal,  or  other  symbols,  such  as  stars  and 
planets,  can  have  no  other  meaning  than  that  of  a  simple  nature 
religion  had  developed  a  desire  for  (a  different  kind  of  salvation 
from  that  it  had  at  first  held,  but  had  carried  on  its  sacramental 
emblems  into  a  new  environment.  Originally  the  Greeks  land  Ro- 
mans knew  little  or  nothing  of  star  worship,  but  >after  the  Alex- 
andrian conquest,  the  stars,  known  to  all  peoples,  came  to  be  the 
universally  accepted  vehicle  of  imperialistic  ideals.15  Hence  there 
were  present,  at  all  times  suggestions,  at  least,  of  lan  earlier 
longing  for  salvation  from  an  inhospitable  nature.  Indeed  at  a 
relatively  late  date,  the  worship  of  Osiris,  inspired  its  devotees 
to  implore  the  god  to  give  them  the  promise  of  fresh  water,  which 
earlier  had  been  the  source  of  relief  from  the  heat  of  the  burning 
Egpytian  sun,  and  later  the  symbol  of  a  fountain  of  living  water. 
Even  at  Rome,  far  removed  from  the  drought  of  Egypt,  the  faith- 


50  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

ful  inscribed  upon  their  tombs  these  words,  "May  Osiris  give 
you  fresh,  water."16 

It  would  seem  that  there  was  nothing  inherent  in  the  early 
mystery  religions  which  called  tfor  an  ethical  salvation,  inasmuch 
as  their  goal  was  a  changed  nature  or  a  future  heaven.  Men 
sought  for  release  from  guilt  as  if  it  were  a  stain  fastened  upon 
them  and  removable  through  the  operation  of  some  magical  or 
sacramental  rite.17  It  is  in  this  sense  that  conduct  is  chiefly  of 
concern  to  the  early  mystery  religions.  Ethioal  salvation  reaches 
its  higher  forms  under  the  influence  of  ideals  of  personal  behavior 
in  society,  as  seen  particularly  in  the  Jewish  system,  or  the 
"brotherhood  of  man"  advocated  by  the  philosophic  movements. 
Yet  it  would  not  be  just  to  infer  that  the  mysteries  did  not  come 
to  recognize  the  value  of  ethical  conduct.  Under  the  pressure  of 
moral  standards  evolved  in  the  total  complex  of  social  experience 
if  not  through  the  direct  influence  of  the  philosophies,  these  cults 
rapidly  lassimilated  an  appreciation  of  the  worth  olf  purity  of 
heart  as  contrasted  with  ceremonial  cleanliness.  The  Isis  cult, 
with  which  looseness  of  morals  was  at  first  associated,  responded 
to  the  popular  demand  for  'morality  'and  was  transformed  into  a 
religion  of  inner  righteousness.18  Nero  absented  himeslf  from 
the  final  ceremonies  of  the  Eleusinian  mysteries  when  it  was  made 
known  by  the  herald  that  immoral  persons  were  forbidden  to 
attend.19  Still  later,  Celsus  twitted  his  Christian  antagonists  by 
comparing  the  high  moral  standards  of  admission  into  the  pagan 
mysteries  with  Christian  practices  which  admitted  sinners.20 

Similarly,  there  is  little  trace  of  the  ideals  of  group  salvation 
in  the  restricted  sense.  It  may  'be  that  the  Isis  cult  was  promul- 
gated for  the  purpose  of  advancing  political  and  social  solidarity 
in  Egypt,  but  this  feature  was  soon  lost  sight  of,  and  the  cult  was 
carried  abroad  on  the  basis  of  other  pleas.  The  Cybele  cult  was 
officially  established  in  Rome  in  204  B.C.,  (though  known  there  be- 
fore), in  recognition  of  the  (fact  that  she  had  become  the  savior 
of  Eome  upon  the  defeat  of  Hannibal.21  But  again  the  idea  of 
national  salvation  died  out  in  the  life  of  the  cult,  if,  indeed,  it 
ever  existed  there.  In  A.D.  307  Diocletian  recognized  Mithra  as  the 
protector  of  the  empire  (fautori  imperil  sui]  by  the  official  dedi- 
cation of  a  sanctuary  to  him.22  In  spite  of  official  recognition, 
these  cults  did  not  become  advocates  of  national  salvation  as  did 
emperor  worship  and  the  conservative  restorations  of  the  older 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  51 

religion  by  Augustus  and  Julian.  No  doubt  the  multiplicity  of 
mystery  religions  prevented  lany  one  of  them  from  becoming  pre- 
dominant in  this  capacity.  It  is  true,  however,  that  these  cults, 
by  reason  of  their  dualism,  (fostered  the  aristocratic  ideals  and 
tendencies  of  their  time,  and  promised  salvation  only  to  those 
who  became  members  of  the  initiated  group.  In  this  respect  they 
possessed  a  heightened  diorm  of  group  (esoteric)  salvation,  though 
they  still  retained  the  individualism  which  was  characteristic  of 
the  time. 

Among  other  distinctions  within  the  ,general  idea  of  salvation 
are  thoise  of  time.  The  question  then  is  this :  does  salvation  ben- 
efit now  or  in  the  future  wiorld?  As  far  as  historical  forms  of 
mystery  religion  are  concerned,  a  single  answer  was  not  given. 
The  nature  cults  sought  a  present  salvation,  but  when  they  were 
transformed  into  "mysteries"  they  gave  up  this  feature  'almost 
altogether.  In  so  far  as  an  interest  in  a  present  solution  of  pres- 
ent problem's  was  retained,  a  present  salvation  was  of  course  an 
integral  part  of  religious  thought.  Thus  demons  as  an  explana- 
tion df  tany  inconvenience  or  distress  necessitated  some  corres- 
ponding release  from  them.23  The  magioal  formulae  which  be- 
came so  widespread  in  use  just  before  and  after  the  opening  of 
the  Christian  era  testify  to  the  prevailing  desire  to  secure  a  really 
vital  kind  of  present  salvation.  The  development  of  astrology 
and  its  incorporation  in  the  current  religious  systems  assisted  in 
transferring  the  interest  of  men  to  the  future  where  salvaton  was 
to  be  from  death  and  from  evil  powers.  Under  the  stimulus 
of  the  imagination,  the  coming  world  was  pictured  in  terms  of 
the  desirable  things  which  had  not  been  obtained  here.  There 
was  to  be  a  Golden  Age  in  which  there  would  be  peace  and  plenty, 
an  epoch  in  this  world 's  if uture  history  or  »a  period  after  the  de- 
struction of  this  world,  during  which  men  would  be  assimilated 
to  the  eternal  and  glorious  life  of  the  heavenly  beings,  free  from 
the  antagonism  of  all  the  lesser  and  evil  beings  who  were  eager 
to  trouble  human  souls.  Yet  Mithra  was  savior  both  in  this  world 
and  in  the  world  to  come. 

Immortality  was  the  key-word  of  all  the  mystery  religions, 
and  particularly  of  those  whose  myth  told  of  a  dying  and  rising 
god  witfti  Whom  the  devotee  might  be  identified.  No  plea  or  prom- 
ise had  such  an  appeal  as  an  assurance  of  individual  deliverance 
from  the  uncertainties  of  life.  Thus  at  one  stroke  they  solved  the 


52  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

problems  of  sickness,  persecution,  poverty  and  disgrace,  and  the 
mystery  of  death. 

In  the  main,  the  problems  which  the  mystery  religions  attempt- 
ed to  solve  were  those  connected  with  the  individual.  It  is  a 
commonplace  to  state  that  with  the  conquest  of  Alexander  and 
the  downfall  of  nationalism,  individualism  came  to  the  front. 
That  it  was  the  case  in  matters  of  religion,  is  easily  demonstrated, 
as  far  as  the  Graeco-Roman  civilisation  was  concerned.  Such 
being  the  case,  it  was  but  natural  that  the  technique  of  salvation 
methods  should  follow  the  lines  suggested  by  the  theory  of  man's 
and  of  god's  nature.  The  source  of  saving  power  wias  not  char- 
acteristi dally  dependent  upon  the  value  of  man's  activity,  but 
in  the  use  made  of  the  strength  and  life  of  the  cult  god.  This, 
however,  was  not  done  in  one  simple  way.  At  least  three  processes 
were  adopted  in  securing  this  end;  1)  there  was  effected  an  iden- 
tification of  the  devotee  with  the  god,  who  had  had  the  experience 
of  having  been  raised  to  eternal  life ;  2)  the  leadership  of  a  fight- 
ing, conquering  god  was  accepted,  land  his  prowess  guaranteed  a 
favorable  outcome;  or  3)  some  control  was  secured  over  deter- 
ministic forces,  on  the  illogical  but  practical  basis  that  all-power- 
ful spiritual  beings  might  be  compelled  to  yield  to  the  wish  of 
their  inferiors  under  certain  conditions. 

Identification  with  the  god  was  particularly  prevalent  in  the 
typical  mystery  cult.  It  had  its  origin  in  the  most  primitive  forms 
of  religion.  The  desired  qualty  of  strength,  swiftness,  fruitful- 
ness,  or  life  was  thought  to  reside  in  the  nature  god.  In  some 
mysterious  way  these  qualities  were  thought  of  as  transferred 
to  the  worshipper  through  partaking  of  the  gods,  through  contact 
with  them,  or  through  imitation  (a  variety  of  sympathetic  miagic). 
This  "transubstantiation"  of  deity  and  the  benefits  accruing 
therefrom,  were  at  first  parts  of  an  immediate  salvation  process 
of  a  rather  simple  character.  Divine  strength  wias  imparted  for 
an  impending  conquest,  or  the  god  was  in  some  way  apprehended 
by  the  devotee.  In  a  quite  natural  way  the  theory  was  made 
workable  when  the  desire  was  for  eternal  life.  The  god,  so  the 
myth  ran,  had  (attained  immortality.  By  a  process  of  identifica- 
tion with  the  god,  the  initiate  was  assured  off  the  same  blessing. 
Thus  the  worshipper  of  the  Cybele-Attis  cult  was  in  aeternum 
renatus,24  and  reverenced  as  a  god,  following  the  baptismal  cere- 
mony, during  which  the  blood  of  the  victim-god  was  the  agent 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  53 

of  regeneration,  and  other  symbolic  acts,  e.  g.,  the  burial  and 
resurrection  scene.  The  self-mutilation  of  the  Phrygian  priests, 
suggesting  the  death  of  Attis,  also  served  to  identify  the  devotee 
with  the  rising  god.25  The  Egyptian  mysteries  gave  the  same 
promise  and  virtually  in  the  same  form.  "The  old  belief  that 
immortality  could  be  secured  by  means  of  an  identification  of 
the  deceased  with  Osiris,  or  Sertapis,  never  died  out."26 

The  introduction  of  astrological  beliefs  did  not  destroy  the 
theory  of  identification,  though  it  tended  to  support  the  idea 
of  a  powerful  god  under  whose  leadership  desired  ends  might 
be  secured.  But  it  is  evident  that  the  soul  of  a  believer  was 
thought  to  share  in  the  immortality  of  the  heavenly  beings,  the 
star-gods,  who  did  not  die,  but  who  were  born  again  when  they 
began  to  sink  and  alwiays  remained  invincible.27  The  theory 
oif  salvation  by  means  of  identification  with  the  god,  remained 
intact  throughout  the  period  during  which  these  cults  flourished. 

Another  means,  however,  by  which  similar  results  were  ob- 
tained was  pictured  under  the  form  of  <a  militant  god,  marshalling 
his  forces  for  combat.  To  ally  oneself  with  this  champion  insured 
safety.  The  religion  of  Mithra  was  particularly  friendly  to  such 
a  view.  Cumont28  summarizes  the  meaning  of  Mithra  as  a  leader 
thus:  "In  the  war  which  the  zealous  champion  of  piety  carries 
on  unceasingly  with  the  malign  demons,  he  is  assisted  by  Mithra. 
Mithra  is  the  god  of  help,  whom  one  never  invokes  in  vain,  an 
unfailing  haven,  the  anchor  of  salvation  for  mortals  in  all  their 
trials,  the  dauntless  champion  who  sustains  his  devotees  in  their 
frailty,  through  all  the  tribulatons  of  life.  As  with  the  Persians, 
so  here  he  is  still  the  defender  oif  truth  and  justice,  the  protector 
of  holiness,  and  the  intrepid  antagonist  of  the  powers  of  darkness. 
Eternally  young  and  vigorous,  he  pursues  them  without  mercy; 
'always  awiake,  always  alert',  it  is  impossible  to  surprise  him; 
and  from  his  never-ceasing  combats  he  always  emerges  the  victor. 
This  is  the  idea  that  unceasingly  occurs  in  the  inscriptions,  the 
idea  expressed  by  the  Persian  surname  Nabarze,  by  the  Greek 
and  Latin  epithets  of  dviKros  ,  invictus,  insuperabilis .  As  the 
god  of  armies,  Mithra  caused  his  proteges  to  triumph  over 
their  barbarous  adversaries,  and  likewise  in  the  moral  realm  he 
gave  them  victory  over  the  instincts  of  evil,  inspired  by  the 
Spirit  of  Falsehood,  and  he  assured  them  salvation  both  in  this 
world  and  in  that  to  come." 


54  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

Mithraism,  throughout  its  history,  appealed  to  the  fighting 
instincts  of  humanity.  It  did  not  foster  a  contemplative  mysti- 
cism as  did  most  of  the  cults.  It  offered  a  distinct  challenge 
to  the  worshipper  who  was  made  to  see  that  his  part  in  the 
cosmic  struggle  was  to  fight  beneath  the  standard  'of  the  invincible 
god  and  assist  in  ushering  in  the  rule  of  right  and  light.  All 
nature  was  engaged  in  a  mighty  combat,  land  Mithra  like  the 
stars,  was  undying  and  unconquerable.  This  fact  was  the  guar- 
antee of  a  victory  and  salvation  of  a  very  active  kind.29 

The  source  of  such  a  soteriology  as  Mithraism  presented  was, 
of  course,  the  militant  dualism  of  Persian  thought  life  which  en- 
gendered a  spirit  of  conquest.  Though  Romans  fought  with  Per- 
sians, The  Romans  finally  adopted  the  god  of  The  Persians.  It  is 
not  without  significance  that  the  cult  was  most  popular  with  sol- 
diers, especially  with  those  of  Rome,  who  carried  their  austere  and 
vigorous  faith  to  the  ends  of  the  empire.  It  promised  salvation 
by  the  very  means  which  gave  efficiency  to  their  own  efforts, 
allegiance  to  a  leader.  In  this  respect  it  was  like  the  cult  of 
the  emperor,  but  even  more  vital.  Mithra  gave  commandments 
as  did  a  general  or  ruler.30  And  under  the  influence  of  imperi- 
alistic ideals  variously  transmitted,  other  religions  also  were 
tinged  with  the  teaching  of  salvation  through  the  mutual  support 
of  subject  worshipper  and  ruler  god  in  the  great  cosmic  conflict. 

Mithraism  is  thus  seen  to  combine  the  two  methods  of  redemp- 
tion. In  the  first  place,  the  dualistic  theory  of  the  universe 
posits  a  good  and  a  bad  nature  or  essence  in  all  things.  Salvation 
was  effected  by  being  on  the  side  of  the  good  and  having  a  good 
nature.  Again,  this  was  effected  by  means  of  personal  attitudes 
toward  the  leader  of  right.  This  relationship  was  individual- 
istic rather  than  social,  but  it  was  very  prominent  throughout 
;the  history  of  Persian  religion.  It  continually  tended  toward 
an  ethical  monotheism  and  a  salvation  by  works.  The  absence 
of  the  social  element  is  evident  by  the  fact  that  there  was  no 
" church"  or  formal  religious  group.  In  earlier  Persian  religion 
this  had  been  supplied  by  the  nation,  but  the  Alexandrian 
conquest  left  the  faith  without  an  official  organization.  The 
gap  was  bridged  over,  though  incompletely,  by  the  continued 
devotion  of  the  individual  to  his  divine  leader. 

The  theory  of  salvation  based  on  control  or  compulsion  of 
deity,  was  not  prominent  in  the  original  mystery  religions.  If 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  55 

one  may  speak  iof  types,  the  Greek  and  Aisa  Minor  cults  sought 
immortality  by  means  of  identification  with  the  god,  and  hence 
compulsion  of  deity  was  not  necessary,  for  the  devotee  was 
himselif  god.  The  Syrian  and  Persian  religions  were  based  on 
the  separation  between  the  subject  and  his  monarch  or  Baal, 
and  this  did  not  permit  control  from  below,  though  it  fostered 
the  notion  of  divine  omnipotence.  In  the  religion  of  Egypt, 
wiiich  was  at  first  a  system  .of  magic,  the  priest  could  force  the 
gods  by  threats  to  do  his  will. 

The  disturbances  of  government  control  during  the  few  cen- 
turies before  and  .after  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era, 
assisted  in  breaking  down  the  final  authority  of  the  gods.  A 
ruler  or  a  god  must  be  reverenced,  but  he  might  be  compelled 
to  yield  under  the  pressure  of  shrewd  diplomacy.  Thus  on 
the  religio-scientific  side,  magic  and  astrology,  and  on  the  socio- 
governmental  side,  partial  subjection  of  the  will  of  the  ruler 
to  the  whims  of  the  people,  tended  to  spread  abroad  the  doctrine 
o!f  man's  ability  to  coerce  the  god,  until  it  was  a  very  popular 
theory  and  even  in  some  instances  possessed  of  some  degree  of 
respectability. 

The  logic  of  astrology  called  for  a  rigid  determinism  which 
itself  would  have  excluded  any  possibility  of  altering  the  course 
of  events.  But  because  of  practical  necessity  as  man  viewed  his 
religious  experience,  and  possibly  justified  by  the  outwardly 
scientific  argument  that  comets  and  shooting  stars  were  evidence 
for  the  occasional  setting  aside  of  inflexible  determinism,31  the 
logic  of  the  theory  gave  way  to  the  logic  of  practical  need. 

The  Egyptians,  as  stated  above,  placed  value  on  the  power 
of  ritual.  It  had  a  functional  significance  which  was  inherently 
its  own,  iand  by  its  use  unlimited  authority  over  divine  beings 
was  secured  for  the  benefit  of  man.  Release  was  sought  (from 
personal  enemies,  storms  were  averted,  in  short,  any  wish  what- 
ever called  for  the  employment  of  some  magical  formula.  The 
Orphici,  who  early  taught  that  purification  from  guilt  derived 
from  the  earth-born  Titans  must  be  effected  through  asceticism, 
later  sought  a  short  cut  to  salvation  by  means  iof  sacramentalism 
and  magic.32  The  magical  formulae  contain  such  statements 
as  these :  ' l  When  this  name  is  spoken  it  carries  along  with  its 
force,  gods  and  demons "  and  "This  spell  loosens  chains,  blinds. 


56  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

brings  dreams,  causes  favours,  and  may  be  used  for  any  purposes 
you  wish".33 

Thus  magic,  astrology,  -and  in  a  measure,  gnosticism,  gained 
tjheir  force  by  claiming  to  effect  for  man  whatever  kind  of 
salvation  he  sought,  through  the  compulsion  of  deity.  Religion 
was  thus  brought  down  to  what  we  view  as  degradation  and 
triviality.  And  in  so  far  -as  these  phases  of  religion  penetrated 
the  established  cults,  they  modified  the  original  theories  in  the 
direction  of  an  even  more  mechanical  manipulation  oi£  divine 
powers  than  that  to  which  they  at  first  held. 

The  mystery  cults,  among  which  a  certain  degree  of  similarity 
existed,  nevertheless  are  here  seen  to  have  possessed  a  surpris- 
ingly wide  range  of  variation.  The  external  features  of  their 
soteriology,  the  'things  for  which  they  showed  aversion  or  for 
winch  they  longed,  are  by  no  means  identical.  They  sought  at 
one  time  a  betterment  of  this  world ;  at  ^another  only  the  future 
world  seemed  to  be  of  concern.  The  means  by  which  salvation 
was  to  be  secured  varied  also,  giving  chief  prominence  to  the 
activity  of  gods  in  some  instances,  and  in  others,  crediting  man 
with  a  considerable  share  of  power. 

For  the  most  part,  the  ills  of  this  life  from  which  the  mysteries 
claimed  to  give  release  were  such  as  might  be  deduced  from  the 
theory  of  man's  inherent  evil  or  weak  nature,  not  from  a  theory 
o!f  good  or  evil  conduct.  That  moral  action  came  to  be  highly 
prized  and  even  demanded,  must  be  readily  acknowledged,  but 
it  can  hardly  be  called  a  proper  development  of  the  'main  prin- 
ciple of  the  cult  belief.  In  this  particular  the  mysteries  as  quests 
for  salvation,  were  quite  different  from  the  Jewish  religion. 

The  Cult  of  the  Emperor. 

The  general  features  of  the  redemptive  type  of  salvation  are 
to  be  seen  in  the  reverence  which  the  ancient  peoples  paid  in 
various  ways  to  their  exalted  rulers.  There  was  the  characteris- 
tic feeling  of  need  and  inability  to  meet  it,  supplemented  by  the 
confident  belief  that  the  gods  were  enough  interested  in  the 
welfare  of  man  to  send  some  representative  or  agent  to  the  rescue. 
And  since  the  gods  were  always  interested  in  the  same  things 
in  which  men  were  interested,  it  was  but  natural  that  some 
special  thought  should  be  paid  to  the  salvation  that  was  to  be 
wrought  in  the  life  of  a  nation's  political  history.  Thus  the 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  57 

'.agents  by  wfhieh  the  longed-for  blessings  were  secured  were 
considered  as  heaven  sent  representatives  of  the  gods.  They 
naturally  became  the  recipients  of  honors  such  as  ordinarily  were 
accorded  only  to  the  gods  themselves.  It  was  but  a  step  to  the 
actual  identification  of  king  or  emperor  with  some  well-known 
god  or  the  imputation  <of  sonship  in  a  literal  sense.  Among 
peoples  to  whom  the  monarchical  ideals  were  natural  there  was 
no  lack  of  religious  quality  in  the  attitude  Shown  by  subjects 
to  king.  This  was  particularly  true  in  the  Orient  where  the  ruler 
was  always  thought  of  /as  coonjmissioned  from  above.  Among 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  of  pre-Christian  times,  the  reins  of  gov- 
ernment were  not  withheld  absolutely  from  at  least  certain  classes 
of  the  people,  and  at  no  time  did  absolutism  so  thoroughly 
doiminate  the  whole  people  as  it  did  in  the  East. 

Among  the  Jews  there  was  a  very  keen  desire  to  have  the 
problems  of  national  life  settled  by  divine  power,  and  this  was 
expressed  in  different  ways,  as  has  been  shown  in  a  former  chap- 
ter. The  development  of  Messianism  was  the  outcome  of  Israel's 
perennial  hope  for  -a  redeemed  nation.  In  the  early  years  of 
organized  life  a  great  deal  of  prominence  was  given  to  the  chief 
or  leader  of  the  tribe.  The  generals,  judges,  or  kings  were  God's 
agents.  But  with  the  division  of  the  people  and  the  consequent 
weakening  of  centralized  power,  there  also  went  the  prospect 
of  achieving  the  plans  which  such  leaders  as  David  had  hoped 
for  the  nation.  Experience  refused  at  last  to  allow  confidence 
to  be  felt  that  a  kingdom  might  be  established  in  the  midst  of 
the  present  world  order  <and  under  earthly  kings.  The  only 
possibilty  of  success  lay  in  the  direction  of  a  theocracy  in  which 
Jehovah  himself  was  the  king.  This  fact  tended  to  lessen  the 
prominence  of  human  leaders  while  still  emphasizing  the  idea 
of  a  kingdom,  though  indeed  it  was  placed  in  a  different  world 
order.  One  cannot  fail  to  see  the  inner  likeness  of  the  Jewish 
national  hope  to  the  expectations  cherished  by  other  peoples. 
In  each  case  a  collective  salvation  was  desired  through  the 
activity  of  divine  power,  operating  either  directly  or  indirectly. 
It  is  to  the  worship  of  the  ruler  by  non-Jewish  peoples  in  the 
Graeco-Roman  world  that  our  special  attention  is  now  turned. 

The  belief  in  a  savior  king  born  of  God,  or  in  some  other  way 
accredited  from  above,  is  well-nigh  universal.34  This  belief  on 
the  part  of  subjects  did  not  depend  upon  the  establishment  of 


58  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

a  cult  for  purposes  of  propaganda.  In  the  Bast  during  the 
period  in  which  monarchical  government  flourished  unmolested 
the  national  organization  itself  furnished  the  necessary  medium 
for  religious  appreciation  of  the  king's  divinity.  This  was  also 
quite  generally  true  in  the  Roman  Empire,  though  the  task  of 
unifying  heterogeneous  elements  called  for  some  special  attention. 
For  (among  the  Greeks  and  Ramans  the  idea  of  a  god-appointed 
king  was  not  universally  accepted.  The  leader  was  thought  of 
as  becoming  a  god  after  death  by  virtue  of  his  exploits  in  behalf 
olf  his  fellowT  men.  The  Occidental  and  Oriental  views  may  be 
stated  antithetically  as  follows:  in  the  East  only  a  god  could 
be  the  " author  of  salvation";  in  the  West  the  man  who  saved 
was  honored  as  a  god.  The  union  or  harmonization  of  these 
two  ideas  took  place  alongside  the  building  up  of  <a  theory  of 
imperalism  which  was  compatible  with  the  governmental  in- 
stincts of  all  the  people. 

As  illustration  of  the  deification  of  a  hero,  mfay  be  cited  the 
honors  given  to  Alexander  the  Great  by  the  lonians  because  of 
his  action  in  securing  liberty  for  them.30  This  probably  took 
place  during  his  lifetime,  iand  if  so,  marks  a  somewhat  radical 
imodificaton  of  the  strictly  Greek  procedure.  Certainly  Alexander 
did  not  want  for  divine  honors  after  his  death.  The  successors 
of  Alexander  received  adoration  in  a  similar  way.  In  307  B.C. 
the  Athenians  honored  Antigonus  and  Demetrius  Polioketes  as 
savior-gods  because  of  their  gratitude  for  being  delivered  from 
the  domination  of  the  Macedonian  Kassander.  In  la  very  short 
time  the  Rhodians  called  Ptolemy  ' "savior"  because  he  had  helped 
to  free  them  from  Demetrius.  Many  other  great  figures  in  the 
history  of  the  post-Alexanderian  age  were  hailed  as  "saviors", 
"savior-gods",  or  "defenders", — the  Ptolemies,  Flaminus,  Pom- 
pey,  Julius  Caesar,  Augustus,  and  others.36  The  uniform  occasion 
for  such  recognition  was  genuine  appreciation  of  the  assistance 
given  to  effect  a  release  from  domination  at  the  hands  of  a  hostile 
nation.  But  the  political  situation  with  all  its  instability  intro- 
duced an  element  of  transiency  in  the  worship  of  the  ruler, 
so  much  so  that  the  cult  of  the  emperor  did  not  become  a  really 
characteristic  feature  of  Roman  religious  life  until  the  Golden 
Age  of  Augustus.  His  reputed  transformation  of  the  city  from 
brick  to  marble  has  enough  truth  behind  it  to  account  for  the 
genuine  religious  fervency  of  popular  appreciation  for  the  safety 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  59 

assured  to  all  by  his  benign  rule.  The  cult  of  the  emperor  flour- 
ished for  a  long  time  under  the  stimulus  received  from  the  Augus- 
tan age.*7  It  seems  not  to  have  been  received  with  the  same  favor 
in  Italy  as  in  the  Eastern  provinces,  but  nevertheless  it  became 
an  effective  means  o'f  symbolizing  the  ideals  of  the  Roman  people, 
who  made  no  distinction  between  religion  and  politics  as  is  done 
todiay.  Later  emperors  did  not  exercise  the  same  caution  which 
Augustus  did,38  in  refusing  divine  honors  in  Rome.  They  were 
very  zealous  in  extending  the  cult  and  in  making  participation 
in  its  rites  a  test  of  patriotic  allegiance.  Those  to  whom  the  Pax 
Romana  seemed  to  be  a,  gift  from  the  emperor,  were  genuine  in 
their  religious  feeling,  but  certainly  the  cult  was  not  free  from 
criticism  as  a  religious  institution.39 

The  organization  of  the  cult  of  the  emperor  reveals  at  once  the 
elements  which  entered  into  it  as  the  formative  impulses,  and  the 
genuineness  of  religious  feeling  which  existed  under  certain  con- 
ditions. The  cult  worship  may  be  approached  from  two  different 
aspects,  viz.,  1)  the  formal  organization  as  it  gathered  about  of- 
ficial centers  within  the  province,  and  2)  the  spontaneous  outburst 
of  worship  which  sprang  from  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  was 
only  incidentally  associated  with  the  cult  of  the  emperor.40  In  so 
far  as  the  official  representatives  of  Roman  government  factually 
furthered  the  cult  on  its  formal  side,  the  object  was  to  gain 
fhe  good-will  and  support  of  the  people  through  the  honor  that 
was  thus  brought  to  them.  No  deep  religious  feeling  could  grow 
out  of  this  phase  of  the  cult,  in  as  much  as  it  wias  concerned,  not 
with  devout  religious  expression,  but  with  governmental  control 
and  unification  deliberately  superimposed.  The  really  religious 
quality  in  emperor  worship  arose  in  the  attitude  of  the  people, 
and  registered  itself  in  the  local  cults  oif(  the  emperor  which,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  formed  the  actual  support  of  the  official  organiza- 
tion. These  cults  arose  out  of  genuine  gratitude  to  the  emperor 
and  the  desire  to  secure  additional  favors  through  flattery  and 
praise.  No  doubt  fear  of  the  ruler's  displeasure  was  at  times 
very  prominent,  but  this  feature  does  not  in  itself  eliminate  the 
religious  element  any  more  than  in  the  Jehovah  or  other  wor- 
ship. There  was  often  present  a  genuine  feeling  of  gratitude 
and  a  filial  attitude  toward  the  emperor  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
inscriptions  to  the  ruler.41  If,  in  the  officially  established  cult 
of  the  province,  the  emperors  had  been  associated  with  the  gods, 


60  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

there  anight  have  been  some  significance  in  the  fact.  But  it  was 
in  the  local  worship  that  the  closest  identification  was  effected. 
Caligula  was  at  one  place  known  as  Helios ;  Nero  was  sometimes 
Apollo,  sometimes  Zeus,  or  perhaps  it  was  Domitian  who  wias 
called  Zeus  at  still  another  place.  The  empresses  were  also 
identified  with  some  of  the  goddesses.  In  some  instances,  the 
gods  were  simply  placed  side  by  side  with  the  patron  gods  of  the 
city.  At  Epheseus  ®eot  5e/?ao-Tot  were  associated  with  the  cult 
of  Demeter,  and  it  is  fair  to  conclude  that  this  unsolicited  act  was 
an  expression  of  genuine  faith  in  the  worth  of  the  ruler  to  the 
community.42 

On  its  formal  side,  the  worship  of  the  ruler  came  into  conflict 
with  Christianity,  particularly  in  Asia  Minor,  where  the  oriental 
willingness  to  worship  the  ruler  as  deity  offered  the  best  oppor- 
tunity for  binding  the  inhabitants  to  the  Empire.  The  Christians 
were,  first  of  tall,  members  of  a  different  kingdom,  and  the  most 
rigid  did  not  consent  to  do  even  the  seemingly  trivial  acts  which, 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  government,  would  have  freed  them 
from  any  charge  of  treason  or  insubordination,  and,  at  the  same 
tome,  left  them  free  to  follow  their  own  religious  desires. 

Thus  there  were  three  attitudes  toward  emperor  worship :  1) 
that  of  the  government  which  was  particularly  desirous  o!f  effect- 
ing national  unity;  2)  that  of  the  average  citizen  (particularly  the 
orientals)  who  were  anxious  for  earthly  peace  and  prosperity, 
and  who  saw  in  the  ruler  the  sole  lagency  that  could  effect  it; 
and  3)  the  view  of  those  strict  adherents  to  the  supremacy  of  the 
new  God-made  order,  who  would  not  deny  their  faith  by  formally 
acknowledging  the  emperor.  Those  of  the  first  and  second  classes 
could  agree  because  they  could  admit  a  multiplicity  of  religious 
systems  side  by  side.  Those  of  the  first  and  third  classes  could 
not  agree,  because  the  Christians  on  the  one  hand,  could  acknowl- 
edge only  one  god;  while  the  officials  'must  at  least  have  their 
god  recognized.  A  clash  was  unavoidable. 

If  the  judgment  of  the  Christian  opponents  were  final,  there 
could  be  no  statement  regarding  the  religious  value  of  the  cult 
of  the  emperor.  The  attitude  of  those  who  adhered  voluntarily 
to  emperor  worship  indicates,  however,  that  there  was  from  their 
point  of  view  much  in  it  that  was  worthy.  In  so  far  as  the  cult 
possessed  religious  genuineness  and  vitality — and  this  was  not 
inconsiderable — it  did  so  by  virtue  of  an  offer  of  salvation.  And 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  61 

the  kind  of  salvation  which,  it  offered  was  conditioned  by  cer- 
tain problems  of  life  which  citizens  faced  intimately.  In  the 
terms  which  have  frequently  been  used  in  this  discussion,  wor- 
ship of  the  ruler  offered  a  present  group  salvation  of  a  political 
and  materialistic  type.  Such  is  the  meaning  of  a  letter  to  Ash- 
urbanipal,  king  of  Assyria,  from  a  subject:  "Shamash  and  Adad 
have  through  their  infallible  oracle  destined  my  lord  the  king 
for  his  royal  rule  over  the  lands:  'favorable  reign,  days  of  jus- 
tice, years  of  righteousness,  copious  rainfall,  mighty  freshets, 
favorable  market  prices'  ....  Animal  life  inraltiplies.  My 
lord  the  king  has  bestowed  life  upon  him  whose  sins  had  destined 
him  for  death;  they  who  were  many  years  in  prison,  thou  hast 
set  free.  They  who  were  sick  many  days  have  been  restored  to 
health ;  the  hungry  became  satisfied,  the  impoverished  became  fat ; 
the  naked  beciaime  clothed  with  garments."43  Other  oriental  peo- 
ples had  the  same  fervent  expectation  of  plenty  under  the  min- 
istry of  the  divine  ruler.  Among  the  Romans  also,  the  material 
blessings  of  life  were  conditioned  by  the  proper  relationship  be- 
tween men  and  gods.44  The  purpose  of  the  Augustan  revival  of 
the  old  religion  was  to  bring  about  the  proper  relationship  be- 
tween the  people  and  gods  of  the  land.  But  in  a  large  part  of  the 
empire,  the  people  began  to  feel  that  Augustus  himself  was  the 
great  god  who  dwelt  in  the  land.  Vergil,  as  many  others,45  saw 
in  him  a  god  who  would  bring  an  end  to  the  wars  and  close  for- 
ever the  gates  of  Janus:  "He  (the  child  Augustus)  shall  bring 
peace  to  the  world,  ruling  it  with  his  father's  might.  On  thee, 
0  child,  the  earth,  as  her  first  offerings,  shall  pour  everywhere 
without  culture  creeping  ivy  with  lady's  glove,  and  Egptian 
beans  with  smiling  acanthus  intermixed.  .  .  .  But  as  soon  as 
thou  shalt  be  able  to  read  the  praises  of  heroes  and  the  'achieve- 
ments of  thy  sire,  and  to  know  what  virtue  is,  the  field  shall  by 
degrees  grow  yellow  with  ripening  corn,  blushing  grapes  shall 
hang  on  the  rude  brambles,  and  hard  oaks  shall  drip  with  dewy 
honey "46 

' '  This,  this  is  he,  so  oft  the  theme 
Of  your  prophetic  fancy's  dream, 

Augustus  Caesar,  god  by  birth; 
Restorer  of  the  age  of  'gold 
In  lands  where  Saturn  ruled  of  old. '  '47 


62  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

The  Halicarnasstis  inscription  sums  up  the  blessings  which 
came  through  the  reign  of  Augustus:  "Now  the  eternal  and  im- 
mortal power  of  all  nature  bestowed  benefactions  in  superabun- 
dance upon  men,  granting  to  our  own  life's  good  fortune  Caesar 
Augustus,  father  of  his  own  native  land,  Rome  divine ;  also  patri- 
monial Zeus  and  savior  of  the  common  race  of  mankind,  all  of 
whose  prayers  Providence  has  not  only  fulfilled  but  even  sur- 
passed. For  earth  and  sea  have  peace,  cities  flourish,  well  gov- 
erned, harmonious,  and  prosperous,  the  course  of  all  good  things 
has  reached  a  climax,  and  all  mankind  has  been  filled  with  good 
hopes  for  the  'future  and  good  cheer  for  the  present."48 

As  long  as  the  prosperity  of  the  nation  seemed  dependent  upon 
the  emperor,  honor  was  duly  given  him.  In  the  East  there  was 
no  hesitation  to  dedicate  temples  even  to  the  living  emperor ;  but 
in  the  West,  particularly  at  Rome,  the  people  seemed  reluctant 
to  acknowledge  that  a  living  ruler  was  divine,  and  when  steps 
were  taken  in  that  direction,  it  was  by  the  emperor  himself.49 
But  after  the  deification  of  Julius  Caesar  in  42  B.  C.  by  a  decree 
of  the  senate,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  official  reluctance  to 
extend  the  same  honors  to  other  members  of  the  royal  line  after 
their  death.50  It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  the  emperors  were 
called  dim  not  del.  That  is,  they  had  become  godls,  they  had  not 
always  been  such.  Yet  in  the  popular  mind  this  distinction  was 
not  clearly  made.  In  these  facts,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the 
emperor  cult  failed  to  satisfy  many  of  the  religious  needs  of  the 
society  in  which  it  was  maintained.  The  ruler  might  be  recog- 
nized as  a  savior-god,  because  of  ihis  good  acts  as  a  ruler.  At  least 
he  would  be  honored  as  one  after  his  death.  But  once  admitted 
to  the  ranks  of  the  divi  he  had  no  significant  function.  The  part 
that  he  had  played  and  for  which  he  had  been  honored  was  now 
being  filled  by  a  living  emperor.  The  only  wants  which  would  be 
satisfied  through  the  worship  of  a  Caesar  were  those  growing 
out  of  the  immediate  needs  of  the  citizen-worshipper,  a  desire 
for  peace  and  prosperity.  As  a  matter  of  experience,  the  whims 
of  the  emperor  were  not  very  dependable,  and  even  tangible 
benefits  for  whic'h  the  ruler  might  be  honored,  might  be  denied, 
property  might  be  appropriated  for  the  enrichment  of  royal  cof- 
fers, and  even  death  imposed  upon  a  one-time  favorite.  Even 
material  salvation  rested  on  an  uncertain  basis. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  63 

When  the  balance  is  struck,  emperor  worship  is  not  found  to 
have  been  very  rich  in  the  religious  satisfactions  which  were 
demanded,  genuine  as  the  positive  side  may  have  been.  It  offered 
through  its  rites  and  ceremonies  little  personal  encouragement  to 
an  individual  as  such,  but  rather  to  the  collective  interests  of 
subjects.  It  gave  no  promise  of  future  life  in  any  of  the  ways 
offered  by  the  mystery  cults  land  philosophies.  It  did  not  stimu- 
late to  an  ethical  cleansing  of  the  inner  life,  for  the  only  sin  in 
this  cult  was  insubordination,  lese-majeste.  It  was  not  concerned 
with  the  betterment  of  the  social  conditions;  it  would  let  the 
slave  remain  a  slave.  In  fact  it  was  based  on  the  asserted  validity 
of  the  ruler-subject  status.51  In  the  comimonplace  beliefs,  the 
superstitions  of  Rome,  which  called  for  some  sort  of  religious 
satisfactions,  the  cult  of  the  emperor  was  still  more  impotent. 
The  typical  Greek  desire  for  a  renovation  of  man's  nature  by  the 
contact  of  a  powerful  god  nature  with  his  corrupt  being,  was  not 
and  could  not  be  met  by  emperor  worship.  The  ruler  was  a 
powerful  person,  not  a  powerful  substance,  land  he  could  help  only 
as  one  person  helps  another. 

Boissier52  credits  the  cult  of  Caesar  with  having  >a  religious 
alongside  a  civil  character,  and  urges  that  as  the  cult  advanced, 
it  did  so  at  the  expense  of  its  religious  quality.  It  should  be 
said,  however,  that  the  Romans  saw  no  such  distinction.  The 
religious  and  civil  phases  were  blended  into  a  consistent  whole. 
To  explain  its  shortcomings,  it  is  not  adequate  to  depend  upon 
judgments  which  were  not  present  to  the  Romans.  One  must  go 
back  to  the  ideas  and  impulses  in  the  midst  of  which  it  moved, 
and  there  its  shortened  range  of  religious  power  is  more  easily 
understood. 

Though  the  cult  of  the  emperor  lacked  the  power  o£  changing 
nature  or  essence,  it  possessed  the  other  element  of  a  successful 
soteriology  and  one  which  functioned  prominently  in  Mithraism, 
Judaism  and  Christianity,  viz.,  the  acceptance  of  the  leadership 
of  a  powerful  being.  And  yet,  as  has  been  shown  above,  it  was 
for  no  great  cause.  There  was  no  idealization  of  the  struggle 
between  good  and  evil  which  was  particularly  prominent  in  the 
Persian  religion.  The  leadership  of  Mithra  guaranteed  salvation 
now  and  in  the  future  life,  a  salvation  from  every  kind  of  ill  from 
which  men  sought  release,  and  challenged  the  believer  to  a 
heroic  conflict.  Christianity,  also  employing  the  idea  of  leader- 


64  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

ship,  satisfied  a  wide  range  of  demands.  The  cult  of  the  eimperor, 
though  genuinely  religious  and  actually  promising  the  salvation 
of  peace  and  plenty,  did  not  cover  some  of  the  most  important 
needs  of  man,  and,  as  a  quest  for  salvation,  yielded  in  religious 
supremacy,  to  those  richer  faiths  of  the  Gnaeco-Roman  world. 

The  Aim  of  the  Graeco-Roman  Philosophers. 

The  philosophic  legacy  which  came  down  to  the  thinkers  who 
lived  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  and  immediately  be- 
fore, was  one  of  pure  thought,  of  cosmic  speculation.  The  earliest 
attempts  of  Greek  philosophers,  for  the  most  part,  grew  out  of 
the  dissatisfaction  which  the  lonians  experienced  when  they  be- 
gan to  criticize  the  explanations  of  the  cosmic  enigma  offered  by 
the  mythologists.  That  the  gods  had  made  the  universe  was  to 
say  that  men  had  made  it,  and  such  a  conclusion  was  impossible. 
They  boldly  turned. to  other  solutions  of  their  difficulty,  and  even 
went  to  the  extent  of  denying  outright  the  basis  of  all  previous 
belief,  the  existence  and  power  of  the  gods.  No  adequate  solu- 
tion was  reached,  and  the  problems  which  had  been  raised  were 
never  answered  in  the  terms  of  the  original  discussion. 

The  philosophy  of  Plato  and  of  Aristotle  was  quite  vitally  re- 
lated to  the  political  ambitions  of  the  times.  The  practical  aspects 
of  their  teachings  were  colored  by  the  ethical  considerations  of 
public  duty.  Plato's  Republic  was  somewhat  of  the  nature  of 
a  model  plan,  which,  if  followed,  would  tend  to  solve  the  difficul- 
ties of  social  and  governmental  life  with  which  the  Greeks  as  a 
nation  were  contending.  There  is  more  than  a  fancied  connection 
between  the  Greek  TroAts  and  its  problems,  and  the  ideal  which 
the  philosophers  were  attempting  to  express.  This  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  the  classic  philosophy  declined  with  the  state,  and 
gave  way  to  other  phases  of  speculation  more  consonant  with 
the  new  governmental  and  social  experiments.  The  unity  of  the 
world  was  being  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  thinkers 
through  the  ascendence  of  the  ideal  of  a  world-wide  empire. 
Parallel  to  this  was  the  Stoic  insistence  on  the  absolute  unity  of 
the  universe,  viewed  from  the  philosophic  standpoint,  and  vitally 
expressed  in  the  doctrine  of  the  brotherhood  of  man.  A  similar 
broadening  of  thought  occurred  in  the  experiences  of  the  Jews 
after  the  dissolution  of  their  national  life.  With  this  line  of 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  65 

development  there  went,  almost  of  logical  necessity,  an  emphasis 
upon  the  affairs  of  the  individual. 

The  late  Grecian  philosophy  has  been  severely  criticised 
because  it  lacks  the  noble  qualities  which  Plato  and  Aristotle 
bestowed  upon  their  systems.53  It  is  quite  true  that  "they  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  petty  interests  of  private  life  and  personal 
affairs".  But  this  estimation  is  in  itself  a  vindication.  The 
poignancy  of  the  social  struggle  was  as  keen  in  the  heart  of  the 
philosopher  as  in  the  heart  of  the  religious  enthusiast.  They 
both  sought  to  solve  the  same  problem  though  they  used  different 
and  opposing  means.  The  philosophies  themselves  were  by  no 
means  unified.  Epicurean,  Stoic,  Sceptic,  and  others,  vied  with  one 
another  in  gaining  public  favor.  The  differences  between  the 
systems  were  greatly  exaggerated  in  the  interests  of  propagan- 
dism,  and  often  the  ideal  of  service  was  for  a  time  obscured. 

During  the  period  in  which  flourished  those  philosophies 
which  to  some  extent  came  into  contact  with  early  Christianity, 
there  were  some  systems  which  possessed  unusual  vigor.  All 
were  inclined  to  be  syncretistic,  and  because  of  this  fact  they 
were  not  always  to  be  sharply  differentiated.  Of  the  many  phases 
of  thought  which  were  widely  disseminated  throughout  the 
Mediterranean  world,  three  representative  philosophies  may  be 
taken  to  illustrate  the  intellectual  attempts  made  in  the  effort 
to  solve  the  problem  of  the  universe  and  thus  serve  men  by  help- 
ing them  gain  a  safe  or  at  least  tolerable  place  in  the  system. 
Epicureanism,  Stoicism,  and  later,  Neo-Platonism,  were  very 
influential  among  the  thinking  people,  and  even  attained  a 
remarkable  degree  of  popularity  through  their  efforts  in  the 
direction  of  practical  service.54 

Epicurean  Philosophy. 

Epicureanism,  by  the  bitterness  of  its  polemic,  was  isolated 
from  the  other  philosophies  of  the  day,  in  spite  of  the  kinship 
it  had  with  them  through  the  common  problem  of  marking  out 
a  safe  course  of  life  by  which  the  miseries  of  life  might  be  avoided. 
The  hostility  which  resulted  in  this  wide  breach,  did  not  spring 
out  of  an  impassable  gulf  of  disagreement,  but  rather  out  of  the 
desire  of  Epicurus'  followers,  to  make  him,  with  his  system,  the 
only  siavior  of  men. 


66  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

Epicurus  set  out  to  define  the  problem  of  life  and  to  offer 
his  solution.  Being  practical  he  was  quite  likely  to  be  indifferent 
to  exact  analysis  and  hostile  to  pure  reason.  His  system  is 
peculiar  in  that  it  arose  as  a  protest  against  religion,  and  almost 
made  the  declaration,  by  so  doing,  that  it  sought  to  save  men 
from  the  gods.  Reduced  to  his  simplest  terms,  the  task  of 
Epicureanism  was,  first,  to  save  men  from  the  fear  of  gods  and  of 
death;  and  second,  to  save  them  from  incompleteness  of  life, 
(which  it  expressed  in  terms  of  the  simplest  known  emotions, 
pleasure  and  pain).  The  solution  in  each  case  was  an  intellectual 
one.  To  abolish  fear  of  the  gods  and  of  death,  an  atomistic 
explanation  of  the  universe  was  urged.  The  science  of  physics 
was  appealed  to, — the  only  science  that  Epicurus  recognized. 
To  -save  men  from  narrowness  and  incompleteness  of  life,  Epi- 
curus told  them  to  understand  what  pleasure  truly  was  and  to 
follow  it.  The  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  universe  which  Epi- 
curus employed  was  not  his  own.  He  borrowed  it  from  the  past, 
from  Democritus.  The  world  resulted  from  the  action  of  atoms. 
No  clause  outside  the  atoms  could  be  assigned;  no  God  moved 
the  atoms  in  their  course.  While  the  theory  does  not  close  the 
circle  entirely,  as  we  view  his  system,  it  was  designed  to  do  so. 
By  this  bold  stroke,  he  lopped  off  the  whole  problem  of  the  vital 
relation  of  man  to  the  gods.  The  value  of  the  atomic  theory  is 
not  primarily  as  an  explanation  of  the  universe,  but  as  a  soothing 
draught  for  distracted  men,  who  after  once  accepting  the  dogma, 
need  no  longer  seek  to  placate  the  anger  of  the  gods.  Similarly, 
if  the  soul  does  not  exist  after  death,  there  can  be  no  unknown 
future,  fraught  with  terrors  -and  torment.55  Of  course,  there  is 
no  fear,  and  physical  science  is  the  medium  of  salvation.  If  some 
other  scheme  had  lent  itself  as  readily  to  the  desired  result,  it 
would  have  been  adopted.  However,  there  was  nothing  quite 
as  effective  at  this  point. 

The  elaborated  theory  of  the  atoms  served  in  some  degree  to 
take  the  place  of  the  old  theology,  though  the  Epicureans  did  not 
ever  deny  the  existance  of  the  real  gods.  They  vigorously  opposed 
belief  in  the  gods  of  popular  thought,  on  the  ground  that  the  true 
gods  could  not  be  apprehended  by  the  senses  ias  the  older  belief 
set  forth.56  Epicureanism  taught  that  the  gods,  made  of:  superfine 
atoms,  lived  somewhere  between  the  various  worlds  in  a  state 
of  blessed  immortality  (contrary  to  the  logic  of  his  atomic  theory 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  67 

of  constant  change).  Their  function  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
see.  If,  as  has  been  conjectured  by  Lachelier,57  W.  Scott,58  and 
Giussani,59  man  according  to  this  scheme  receives  his  idea  of  God 
through  the  fact  that  the  atoms  are  continually  passing  from  the 
form  of  the  god,  which  is  replenished  from  other  sources,  (after 
the  analogy  of  streams  flowing  into  a  lake  and  passing  away 
in  'mist  at  the  same  time),  then  man  obtains  in  this  way  a  direct 
revelation  of  the  life  of  supreme  happiness  which  he  should  live. 
In  fact  it  is  more  than  a  revelation,  it  is  a  direct  incorporation 
of  the  divine  substance  by  which  this  is  made  possible.  But  one 
can  not  go  so  'far  in  the  interpretation  and  elaboration  of  obscure 
passages.00  One  must  be  content  with  saying  "that  the  gods, 
though  material,  are  not  fiflm.  and  solid  like  the  gross  bodies  of 
men  and  visible  things,  but  are  of  a  far  finer  texture,  and  that 
they  have  no  numerical  or  material,  but  only  formal  identity."81 

Not  even  Epicurus  would  have  held  that  the  chief  perplexity 
of  life  had  been  solved  by  the  adoption  of  the  atomic  theory  of 
the  universe.  Forbidding  as  the  unknown  future  was,  and 
capricious  >as  the  will  of  the  gods  might  be,  there  was  the  im- 
mediate and  pressing  question  of  conduct.  We  are  aware  of  the 
social  conditions  and  the  changes  of  fortune  that  awaited  man 
at  every  turn.  One  moment  rich,  poor  the  next;  one  moment 
free,  la  slave  the  next ;  the  ruler's  favorite  or  'an  exile.  The  theory 
of  atoms  could  offer  no  solution  for  these  difficulties. 

The  crowning  ifeature  of  Epicurus'  system  was  revealed  at 
this  point.  The  simplest  and  .most  universal  emotions  of  life 
offered  the  best  criterion  by  which  the  course  of  action  might  be 
determined.  Men  shrank  naturally  from  that  which  gave  pain 
and  responded  gladly  to  that  which. gave  pleasure.  Then  pleasure 
was  good,  and  pain  was  evil.  This  simple  formula  was  the  basis 
of  the  suggested  theory  of  life.  All  men,  Epicurus  believed, 
could  grasp  the  meaning  of  the  terms.  But- this  idea,  like  that 
of  the  origin  of  the  universe,  was  borrowed  from  Democritus,  in 
that  he  described  his  object  of  life  to  be  a  state  of  permanent 
bodily  and  mental  tranquility  and  oblivion  to  the  possible  dis- 
turbances which  threaten  day  by  day.62 

"The  end  of  all  our  action  is  to  be  free  from  pain  and 
apprehension.  When  once  this  happens  to  us,  the  tempest  in  the 
soul  becomes  a  calm,  and  the  organism  no  longer  needs  to  make 
progress  to  anything  which  it  lacks,  or  to  seek  anything  'further 


68  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

to  complete  the  good  for  soul  and  body.  For  we  only  need 
pleasure  so  long  as  the  absence  of  it  causes  pain.  As  soon  as  we 
cease  to  be  in  pain  we  have  no  need  of  further  pleasure.  This 
is  why  we  call  pleasure  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  happy  life. 
It  is  recognized  by  us  :as  our  primal  and  con-natural  good,  and 
is  the  original  source  of  all  choice  and  avoidance,  and  we  revert 
to  it  when  we  make  feeling  the  universal  standard  of  good.  Now 
it  is  because  this  is  our  primal  and  con-natural  good  that  we  do 
please  to  have  every  pleasure,  but  sometimes  pass  by  many 
pleasures  when  a  greater  inconvenience  follows  from  them,  and 
prefer  many  pains  to  pleasures  when  a  greater  pleasure  follows 
endurance  of  the  pain.  Every  pleasure  then  is  a  good,  as  it  has 
the  specific  character  -of  the  good  (i.e.,  to  attract  us  for  its  own 
sake),  but  not  every  pleasure  is  to  be  chosen;  so  also  every  pain 
is  an  evil,  but  not  every  pain  should  be  always  avoided. '  '63 

In  these  words  we  have  a  full  statement  of  Epicurus'  theory 
of  conduct,  not  too  concretely  stated.  There  is  no  question  that 
he  here  sets  up  a  standard  of  high  ethical  value,  and  in  all  proba- 
bility it  wias  so  interpreted  by  himself  and  his  followers.  Else- 
where in  the  Letter  to  Menoeceus  he  is  much  more  explicit. 
"When  we  say,  then,  that  pleasure  is  the  end  and  'aim,  we  do 
not  mean  the  pleasures  of  the  prodigal  or  the  pleasures  of 
sensuality,  as  we  are  understood  to  do  by  some,  through  igno- 
rance, prejudice,  or  wilful  misinterpretation.  By  pleasure  we 
mean  the  absence  of  pain  in  the  body  and  trouble  in  the  soul. 
It  is  not  an  unbroken  succession  of  drinking  feasts  and  of 
revelry,  not  sexual  love,  not  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fish  and 
other  delicacies  of  a  luxurious  table  which  produce  a  pleasant 
life;  it  is  sober  reasoning,  searching  out  the  grounds  of  every 
choice  and  'avoidance,  and  banishing  those  beliefs  through  which 
greatest  tumults  take  possession  of  the  soul."64 

The  most  crucial  point  in  Epicurus'  system,  pleasure,  evoked 
the  bitterest  antagonism  in  its  day.  Stoic  virtue  and  Epicurean 
pleasure  seemed  irreconcilable.  But  the  final  explanation  of  the 
terms  lessens  the  distance  between  them,  which  in  the  first  place 
was  caused  more  by  the  rivalry  of  the  schools  than  by  the  actual 
divergence  of  the  ideas  themselves.  Indeed,  Epicurus  hijmself, 
though  theoretically  holding  to  the  supremacy  of  pleasure  over 
virtue,  (which  is  a  weak  point  in  his  scheme),  cannot  divorce 
the  two  in  practice.65 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  69 

In  advocating  pleasure  versus  pain,  the  Epicurean  did  not, 
as  we  saw  above,  seek  the  pleasures  of  the  moment,  nor  those  otf 
the  body.  Yet  by  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  he  was  impelled 
to  yield  to  them  in  some  measure.  The  whole  fabric  of  his 
philosophy  rested  on  the  basis  of  emotional  feeling.  Here  lay 
the  difficulty.  Experience  revealed  the  fact  that  the  man  was  be- 
trayed by  emotions  into  bad  conduct.  Stoicism  and  Christianity 
called  for  a  vigorous  repression  of  bad  emotions  and  Stoicism 
went  even  farther  and  demanded  that  all  emotions  be  eradicated. 
But  Epicureanism  treated  man  as  if  he  were  a  moral  dyspeptic, 
whose  flagging  appetites  should  be  wheedled  and  coaxed,  but 
not  overtaxed.  Doubtless  the  success  of  the  Epicurean  philosophy 
was  limited  by  this  defect  more  than  by  any  other.  It  was 
designed  to  save  men  from  the  fear  of  the  gods  and  of  death; 
but  its  chief  object  was  to  help  men  wend  their  way  through  the 
maze  of  perplexing  questions  of  conduct,  to  save  them  ifrom 
mistakes  in  judgment,  and  to  turn  their  minds  from  dwarfing 
thoughts  to  enobling  ones.  In  this  it  was  least  successful,  for 
it  was  not  really  vigorous  for  a  real  conflict  in  life. 

Stoic  Philosophy. 

Among  the  systems  of  philosophy  prevalent  in  that  day  there 
is  none  more  worthy  of  special  consideration  than  that  of  the 
Stoa.  The  schools  of  Epicurus,  of  the  Septics,  and  the  natural 
descendants  o'f  the  older  systems  (Aristotelian,  Platonic,  Pytha- 
gorean) carried  on  their  propaganda  with  more  or  less  success 
and  with  more  or  less  tenacity  of  purpose.  The  Stoics,  however, 
in  the  period  immediately  before  and  after  the  opening  of  the 
Christian  era,  assumed  'an  importance  which  was  not  held  by 
any  other  type  of  thought.  The  secret  of  Stoicism's  success  can 
hardly  be  attributed  to  the  perfection  of  its  structure.  Other 
philosophies  perhaps  surpassed  it  on  the  purely  intellectual 
side,  incorporated  fewer  inherent  contradictions,  land  revealed 
to  the  eye  of  the  critic  fewer  gaps  in  logical  development.  The 
outward  appearance  of  the  Stoic  scheme  may  reveal  to  us  many 
imperfections ;  but  its  ability  to  penetrate  to  the  heart  o'f  human  , 
distress,  and  to  calm  all  fears  and  to  heal  all  wounds,  can  leave 
no  doubt  in  our  minds  that  it  won  its  popularity  by  merit. 

The  change  from  conventional  philosophy  to  religious  phfc 
losophy  is  nowhere  more  evident  than  in  Stoicism.  The  mythology 


70  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

and  the  physical  philosophies  had  attacked  one  human  problem, 
and  had  offered  their  explanations  of  the  universe,  its  creation 
and  government.  But  no  final  conclusion  had  been  reached  and 
human  wonder  was  unsatisfied.  No  social  or  individual  crisis 
depended  on  a  correct  answer,  however.  The  Stoics  were  par- 
ticularly interested  in  extricating  themselves  from  the  tangle 
of  opposing  circumstances  in  which  they  found  themselves  en- 
meshed. Their  kinship  with  the  thinkers  oif  the  preceding  age 
naturally  impelled  them  to  use  reason,  the  highest  faculty  which 
they  possessed,  and  not  to  resort  openly  to  any  specially  God- 
given  power,  that  they  actually  might  have  some  short-cut  to 
the  end. 

The  concrete  forms  of  life  from  which  they  wished  release 
were  manifold,  but  most  of  them  were  revealed  in  the  unevenness 
of  social  life,  in  slavery,  poverty,  ignorance,  blood-shed,  of  power 
contrasted  with  weakness.  Men  were  uncertain,  fearful ;  turning 
hither  and  thither  in  the  search  for  rest.  Epictetus,  for  instance, 
wished  to  make  it  clear  that  one  should  live  far  above  the  trials 
which  faced  the  average  citizen  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  his  day. 
Exile,  slavery,  death  might  come,  but  they  could  be  evils  only  to 
those  who  made  them  such.66 

What  made  exile  or  death  evils?  This  was  the  question  that 
the  thinking  Stoics  sought  to  answer.  All  matter  was  divine  in 
origin,  and  only  removed  by  a  few  stages  from  its  source.  There 
wias  no  ultimate  evil  destiny  awaiting  it.  Death  might  even 
hasten  the  return  oif  man's  portion  of  pure  Logos  (the  soul)  to 
the  great  and  powerful  Logos.  It  was  not  death  which  was  evil, 
but  the  fear  of  it,  and  fear  was  a  mistaken  judgment.  The  Stoic 
reasoned  that  one  of  the  hindrances  to  his  attianment  of  Happi- 
ness and  Security  was  fear  of  the  uncertainties  which  confronted 
him. 

Again,  the  ideal  world  of  the  Stoic  was  ruled  by  Reason, 
the  highest  force  which  his  experience  knew.  !If  Reason  had 
had  the  final  decision  regarding  humian  action,  no  mistaken 
judgment  would  have  been  made,  and  no  fear  would  have  been 
present  to  distract  men.  But  the  fact  of  life  was  this :  men  were 
not  ruled  by  Reason,  but  by  Desire  or  the  result  of  failing  to 
use  Reason.  Their  emotions  drove  them  back  and  forth,  and 
across  the  whole  arena  o;f  life,  with  no  uniform  direction  and  no 
hope  of  a  goal,  because  of  these  mistaken  judgments. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  71 

Although  Fear  and  Desire  seem  to  be  the  ultimate  forms 
of  evil  emotions  which  delude  humanity  in  its  search  for  happi- 
ness, the  practical  bent  of  Stoic  philosophy  early  divided  them 
into  the  common  emotions  of  experience. 

The  Stoics  were  not  too  exact  froim  the  standpoint  of  psychol- 
ogy in  the  subdivision  of  these  emotions.  They  ran  through 
the  whole  list  of  minor  and  major  emotions  which  were  expressed 
by  their  language  even  if  the  terms  were  not  well  understood.  The 
object  was  to  obtain  a  workable  list  of  faults  and  vices,  that  the 
more  significant  part  of  their  work  might  be  carried  out  with  at 
least  a  semblance  of  scientific  exactness. 

The  problem  of  salvation  from  these  emotions  was  one  which 
lay  within  the  limits  of  man's  earthly  existence.  All  false  judg- 
ments resulting  from  Desire  and  resulting  in  Fear  affected  this 
life.  The  fear  of  death  was  not  a  cause  of  disturbance  because 
of  the  possible  outcome  of  the  soul  after  the  disintegration  o!f 
the  body,  but  because  of  the  disquietude  called  forth  by  anticipa- 
tion of  the  event.  Thus  any  salvation  from  these  fears  must  be  a 
present  salvation. 

Again  Epictetus  offers  enlightenment,  this  time  with  regard 
to  the  state  to  which  men  wished  to  be  saved.  "No  one  then 
who  is  in  a  state  of  fear  or  sorrow  or  perturbation  is  free;  but 
whoever  is  delivered  from  sorrows  and  ifears  and  perturbations, 
he  is  at  the  same  time  delivered  from  servitude."67 

To  sum  up  the  discussion  of  the  form  of  the  problem  of 
salvation  in  Stoicism,  the  following  suggestions  are  offered  for 
consideration.  The  political  and  social  breakdown  involved  the 
noble  minded  thinking  man  in  a  complexity  of  difficulties  from 
which  he  had  no  outward  means  of  escape.  Exile  or  death  might 
be  ordered  by  a  capricious  despot ;  poverty  might  come  from  the 
same  source ;  friendship  was  not  strong  enough  or  secure  enough 
to  guarantee  any  degree  of  continuing  satisfaction.  Against 
all  this  the  great  souls  of  some  philosophers  rebelled.  But  to 
what  avail?  A  reformation  of  society  in  its  outward  form  was 
impossible,  and  indeed  unthought  of.  Hence  safety  Was  sought 
in  the  life  of  the  soul  itself.  The  evils  of  life  were  not  denied; 
they  were  surmounted  and  ignored.  The  Stoic  believer  was 
thus  saved  'from  them,  as  if  they  no  longer  existed  for  him. 

Such  was  the  form  of  the  problem  of  salvation  in  that  a,ge 
and  thought.  We  now  turn  to  the  solution  which  the  Stoa  offered. 


72  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

Zeno  .and  his  followers  thought  of  salvation  as  an  object  to 
be  striven  for,  as  a  goal  of  attainment.  The  dignity  of  the  think- 
ing man  precluded  any  thought  of  a  salvation  by  redemption. 
In  other  words  man  must  be  his  own  savior,  'the  Master  of  his 
fate,  the  Captain  oif  his  soul7.  The  peace  and  quiet  of  salvation 
came  only  at  the  end  of  a  long  struggle ;  vivere  miltare  est.  But 
when  peace  came  the  soul  of  man  was  instantaneously  released 
from  all  the  limitations  of  oppressing  evil.  There  was  no  inter- 
mediate state  in  which  a  man  was  neither  good  nor  bad,  or  partly 
good  and  partly  bad,  since  the  corresponding  moral  states  were 
at  opposite  poles.  It  is  true  that  progress  was  involved  in  passing 
from  good  to  evil,68  but  progress  in  the  direction  of  virtue  was 
not  virtue  itself.  That  was  only  attained  at  the  completion  of 
the  journey.  "Virtue  admits  of  neither  increase  nor  diminution," 
"and  there  is  no  mean  between  virtue  and  vice".69 

But  the  Stoics  were  faced  by  the  problem  of  making  clear 
by  what  process  a  man  was  to  "work  out  his  salvation",  and 
by  means  of  what  power.  They  resorted  to  the  primary  tenet 
of  their  faith ;  that  all  existing  things  were  of  the  nature  of  Gk)d ; 
and  man,  since  he  alone  of  all  creatures,  had  in  his  soul  la  part 
of  the  Primal  Logos,  was  able  to  rise  in  the  scale  of  life  by 
exercising  the  powers  within  himself.70 

The  Stoics  viewed  this  divine  quantum  from  various 
angles;  sometimes  it  was  AoytKT/  «/a>x>i,  sometimes  vow,  or  Stavota, 
(reasoning  aspect,  reason,  intellect).  In  any  event  it  was  that 
part  which  acted  as  Reason  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the  word, 
and  on  the  other  hand,  that  which  chose  as  Will,  from  the  results 
of  reasoning,  and  gave  assent  to  any  course  of  taction. 

This  God-within  functioned  in  Stoic  thought  in  a  fashion 
not  essentially  different  from  that  of  revelation  in  Judaism  and 
Christianity;  or  more  exactly,  like  the  sacramental  and  trtans- 
foitming  power  of  which  man  availed  himself  in  the  mystery 
cults.  The  Stoic  philosopher  realized  that  man  was  not 
of  himself  able  to  lift  himself  to  a  higher  level,  but  he  would 
not  employ  the  idea  of  special  revelation  las  other  'faiths  did. 
He  sought  to  preserve  for  man  the  dignity  of  self-compulsion  and 
self-achievement.  The  disdain  with  which  he  would  ordinarily 
look  upon  an  out  and  out  redemption  religion  may  well  be 
imagined.  Yet  even  proud  Stoicism  in  the  midst  o'f  its  great 
task,  could  not  maintain  its  system  intact.  The  utter  helplessness 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  73 

of  iman  and  the  crying  need  of  his  soul,  however  divine  it  might 
be,  tended  to  lead  the  Stoic  dogma  in  the  direction  of  the  humbler 
faiths.  Even  as  early  as  Cleanthes  (321-232  B.C.)  there  seem  to 
be  some  traces  of  this  feeling.  The  warmth  of  his  hymn  to 
Zeus,  is  made  more  fervid  by  the  urgent  appeal  for  help  with 
which  the  hymn  closes. 

"But,  Zeus  all-bountiful!  the  thunder-flame 
And  the  dark  cloud  thy  majesty  proclaim : 

From  ignorance  deliver  us,  that  leads 
The  sons  of  men  to  sorrow  and  to  shame. 
Wherefore  dispel  it,  Father,  from  the  soul 
And  grant  that  Wisdom  may  our  life  control, 

Wisdom  that  teaches  thee  to  guide  the  world 
Upon  the  path  of  justice  to  its  goal."71 

Yet  in  spite  of  this  intrusion  of  more  or  less  hostile  ideas  the 
Stoic  plan  of  salvation  remained  essentially  as  it  was  lat  first. 
The  God-within,  functioning  as  Reason,  'assisted  man  in  reaching 
correct  judgments,  the  first  step  in  attaining  individual  security; 
when  Reason  was  not  followed,  a  mistaken  judgment  resulted; 
On  the  other  hand,  the  God-within,  functioning  as  Will,  helped 
one  to  "make  the  right  use  of  appearances",  or  in  other  words, 
the  right  use  of  the  experiences  of  life  that  come  to  us  through 
the  senses,  to  follow  up  a  correct  judgment.72 

The  exercise  of  the  will  is  directed  against  the  emotions  which 
by  nature  are  opposed  to  divine  Reason.  It  is  the  emotions  from 
which  Stoics  wish  to  be  saved ;  from  Fear  iand  Desire,  primarily, 
and  also  from  all  the  forms  of  these  monstrous  evils.  It  has  al 
ready  been  pointed  out  that  there  is  no  half-way  point  of  safety 
between  Virtue  and  Evil.  Just  so,  there  is  no  regulation  of  the 
desires ;  only  total  suppression  is  adequate.  Plato,  Aristotle,  >and 
later  the  Epicureans  held  that  the  emotions  should  not  be  eradi- 
cated, but  should  rather  be  subdued.  But  the  Stoic  held  no  doe- 
trine  of  the  mean.  He  sought  ideal  freedoim  from  the  appeal  of 
emotion,  though  of  course  he  never  secured  it.  One  of  the  most 
marvelous  features  about  the  whole  history  of  the  Stoa  is  that  it 
adhered  so  loyally  to  an  ideal,  which  it  urged  as  practicable  in 
one  breath,  and  in  another,  acknowledged  never  to  have  been 
attained,  unless  by  some  one  whose  sacred  memory  had  obscured 


74  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

the  facts.  Thus  the  ideal  Wise  Man  is  one  in  whom  there  is  not 
the  slightest  trace  of  anything  which  is  opposed  to  Reason.73 

The  practical  difficulty  which  arose  at  this  point,  i.  e.,  in  ex- 
plaining the  actual  suppression  of  emotion  as  other  than  regula- 
tion, was  met  in  a  very  ingenious  way.  An  emotion,  when  once 
subordinated  to  reason  was  no  longer  an  emotion,  having  lost  its 
violent  character;  therefore  it  was  entirely  suppressed,  uproot- 
ed.74 By  this  process  of  reasoning,  Virtue  is  set  forth  in  its  nega- 
tive aspects ;  it  is  apathy.75  But  as  an  object  of  effort  it  assumed 
a  more  positive  character.  It  is  the  negative  side  of  virtue 
which  impels  some  to  charge  Stoicism  with  being  virtuous  but 
not  moral.  In  fact,  Virtue  as  Apathy,  and  Evil  as  Fear,  do  lack 
moral  qualifications.  Stoicism,  charted  and  mapped  in  terms  of 
philosophy  and  psychology  by  critics  of  (another  generation,  is 
one  thing;  lived  out  amidst  the  tests  of  life,  it  is  another.  It 
need  hardly  be  suggested  that  the  school  of  Zeno  carried  out  an 
ethical  program  of  commendable  worth,  and  by  so  doing,  made 
known  its  saving  power. 

What  were  the  limits  of  Stoic  salvation?  Logically  there 
could  be  no  limits  beyond  this  present  life,  for  there  was  no 
Hell  awaiting  man  beyond  the  gates  of  Death.  The  Stoic's  Hell 
was  on  this  earth,  or  in  other  words,  this  world  became  Hell,  as 
man  was  forced  to  stay  here.  When  the  Fire  of  one's  soul  was 
made  free  at  death  it  sped  away  to  join  that  Fire  from  which 
it  came.76 

Since  every  soul  was  eager  to  be  absorbed  into  the  original 
Fire,  there  could  be  no  hope  of  a  personal  immortality.  Such  a 
belief  on  the  lips  of  such  individuals  as  Zeno  and  his  followers 
seems  strange;  it  ctan  only  be  explained  by  the  universal  gloom 
and  pessimism  which  governed  each  man's  thought  in  that  age. 

But  stranger  still,  is  the  Stoic  doctrine  of  conflagrations.  A 
compromise  seems  to  have  been  struck  between  the  Oriental  teach- 
ing of  rest  in  the  divine  and  of  transmigrations  of  souls,  and  the 
more  typicial  Occidental  craving  for  individual  expression,  the  lat- 
ter being  secured  for  good  and  bad  alike  through  an  infinite  num- 
ber of  cycles  of  absorptions,  conflagrations,  and  emanations. 

This,  however,  is  only  one  of  several  changes  which  came  into 
Stoic  thought,  and  chief  among  these  was  the  rise  of  the  concep^ 
tion  of  evil  as  inherent  in  matter.  The  logical  position  of 
Stoicism  was  that  all  existence  originally  was  a  part  of  the 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  75 

divine  Logos.  Body  and  soul  were  of  the  same  substance.  Thus 
Stoicism  was  monistic.  But  Posidonius  (and  he  seems  to  have 
been  the  first),  set  himself  in  direct  opposition  to  this  view,  being 
influenced,  in  all  probability,  by  Platonic  and  Pythagorean  dual- 
ism. He  speaks  explicitly  thus:  "The  ctause  of  passions,  the 
cause,  i.  e.,  of  disharmony  and  of  unhappy  life,  is  that  men  do 
not  follow  absolutely  the  daimon  that  is  in  them,  which  is  akin  to, 
and  has  a  like  nature  with,  the  Power  governing  the  whole  kos- 
mos,  but  turn  aside  after  the  lower  principle  and  let  it  run  taway 
with  them.  Those  who  fail  to  see  this  ...  do  not  perceive 
that  the  first  point  in  happiness  is  to  be  led  in  nothing  by  the 
irrational,  unhappy,  godless  element  in  the  soul."71  It  is  not  clear 
that  Posidonius  went  to  the  same  extent  that  the  Neo-Pythagore- 
ans  did  in  ascribing  an  evil  nature  to  matter.  But  at  least,  he 
was  steeped  in  the  thought  that  was  current  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era,  which  taught  that  physical  life  was  subjected 
to  temptation,  because  of  some  evil  tendency  that  was  inherent 
in  it.  Something  of  this  knd  was  implicit  in  the  original  Stoicism 
which  postulated  a  gradation  of  logos  matter.  It  was  only  neces- 
sary to  draw  a  sharp  line  somewhere  between  the  extremes  and 
produce  a  dualism.  Salvation  then  became  openly  a  metaphysical 
affair.  It  was  necessary  for  the  pure  Logos  to  drive  out  the 
evil  and  hostile  nature  before  a  man  could  be  saved.  Formerly  it 
was  only  necessary  for  pure  Logos  to  revitalize  what  had  once 
been  pure  Logos,  and  was  still  Logos,  though  lacking  in  primal 
force.  Other  more  or  less  fantastic  ideas  came  in  to  supplement 
this  divergence  from  the  original  teaching,  yet  the  Stoic  plan  of 
salvation  received  no  essential  change.  The  God-within  helped 
mian  in  his  judgments ;  and  whatever  was  the  view  of  the  future 
life,  it  was  the  pure  Logos  which  helped  man.  Though  Stoicism 
always  exalted  human  efforts  to  a  dignified  position,  it  could  not 
trust  man's  ability  alone.  The  powerful  god-stuff  must  in  some 
way  regenerate  man's  nature. 

It  remains  to  consider  the  adequacy  of  Stoicism  in  meeting  the 
craving  of  its  day  for  salvation.  Crossley78  speaks  of  Stoicism 
as  "the  system  that  stood  to  Pagan  Home  more  nearly  than 
anything  else  in  the  place  of  a  religion,''  while  Kendall79  remarks 
that  "its  history  resembles  that  of  a  religion  rather  than  a 
speculative  system."  Since  every  system  of  thought,  whether 
philosophic  or  religious,  is  the  creation  of  a  social  group  for  its 


76  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

own  needs,  we  can  form  some  estimate  of  the  adequacy  of  Stoi- 
cism, by  considering  its  geopraphical  distribution,  the  universal- 
ity of  its  acceptance  wherever  it  went,  the  permanency  of  its 
appeal,  and  the  quality  of  life  which  it  inspired.  The  first  three 
points  are  fairly  clear  in  every  exposition  of  history.  Wherever 
the  typical  Graeco-Roman  culture  went,  Stoicism  went;  it  was 
adopted  by  men  in  all  ranks,  Epictetus  was  a  slave,  Marcus  Aure- 
lius  was  an  emperor;  it  endured  just  so  long  as  the  needs  which 
produced  it,  endured,  and  so  long  as  it  was  able  to  chtange  as 
needs  changed.  As  for  the  quality  of  the  Stoic  life,  our  growing 
historical  sense  is  creating  an  increasing  appreciation  o'f  the 
heroism  of  its  advocates,  and  the  genuineness  of  their  belief. 

Neo-Platonism. 

The  Stoics  and  Epicureans  were  materialists.  In  common  with 
the  thought  of  the  time,  they  saw  the  world  as  "one".  Instead 
of  employing  the  dualism  of  Plato  and  Aristotle,  they  elimin- 
ated what  troubled  them  most,  the  "spiritual"  element,  and  sub- 
sumed all  under  a  material  category,  among  the  Epicureans,  the 
atomic  theory,  and  among  the  Stoics,  the  Logos  doctrine.  But 
the  metaphysical  treatment  was  not  more  prominent  than  the 
practical  phases  of  their  thought,  :as  had  been  the  case  with  their 
great  predecessors. 

The  last  greiat  effort  of  the  Greek  mind  to  solve  the  riddle  of 
the  uinverse  was  Neo-Platonism.  As  its  name  suggests  it  was  an 
attempt  to  revive  the  thought  of  Plato.  It  was  characterized  by 
a  great  reverence  for  the  past  and  its  teaching.  And  though  it 
did  consciously  attempt  to  gain  sanction  for  its  own  premises 
by  an  appeal  to  traditional  authority,  there  was  present  a  con- 
siderable amount  that  had  not  been  taught  by  Plato  or  his  con- 
temporaries. It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  arrive  at  many  of  the 
actual  antecedents  of  the  Neo-Platonism  o;f  Plotinus,  the  greatest 
and  most  representative  exponent  of  the  system.  The  records  of 
his  lectures  tare  preserved  in  the  account  o'f  Porphyry,  his  pupil 
(the  Enneads),  but  they  are  there  tinged  to  a  considerable  de- 
gree by  Neo-Pythagorean  sentiments  not  held  by  the  great 
teacher  himself.  Other  Neo-Platonists  also  incorporated  elements 
of  Neo-Pythagoreanism,  which  was  essentially  dualistic  in  con- 
trast with  real  Neo-Platonism.  On  the  whole,  the  system  is  diffi- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  77 

cult  to  trace  out  in  details,  though  the  main  lines  are   fairly 
distinct. 

Ammonius  Saccas,  who  lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second 
century  A.  D.  and  the  first  part  of  the  third,  is  known  tas  the 
founder  of  this  system  of  philosophy.  The  most  prominent  of 
his  pupils  was  Plotinus,  whose  teaching  is  .almost  synonymous  with 
Neo-Platoriism.  He  was  born  in  A.D.  204  at  Lycopolis  in  Egypt. 
Porphyry  and  lamblichus  are  other  outstanding  members  of  the 
school  which  had  its  chief  'center  at  Alexandria.  At  times  the 
contact  between  Neo-PMtonism  and  Christianity  has  been  rather 
close.  Ammonius  Saccas  is  said  to  have  been  a  Christian  at  one 
time.  Augustine  was  an  adherent  of  the  school  before  he  became 
a  Christian,  and,  if  one  may  judge  by  some  phases  of  his  thought, 
he  was  always  a  Neo-Platonist.  Finally,  however,  the  movement 
broke  down,  having  made  its  last  great  effort  in  the  revival  of 
paganism  under  the  Emperor  Julian.  Its  teaching  was  perpetu- 
ated in  many  of  the  orthodox  doctrines  oif  the  Christian  church 
where  the  name  of  Plato  was  long  reverenced. 

Neo-Platonism  was  essentially  a  metaphysical  system,  and  as 
such  was  a  product  of  Greek  thought,  not  Oriental,  though  it 
yielded  in  times  to  many  of  the  ideas  of  the  East.  Plotinus  was 
anxious  to  serve  humanity  by  opposing  materialism,  scepticism, 
and  dualism,  and  to  this  end  his  metaphysics  was  shaped.  In 
briefest  form,  his  analysis  of  the  universe  is  as  follows :  spirit  and 
matter  are  distinguished,  and  Reason  is  separated  from  the  lower 
functions  of  conscious  life,  by  means  of  his  theory  of  gradations. 
This  begins  with  the  One,  which  is  also  designated  by  other  titles ; 
then  follow  Reason,  Soul,  the  sensible  world,  and  unformed  mat- 
ter. Plotinus  opposed  the  theory  o;f  emanations  of  Gnostic  specu- 
lation, on  the  ground  that  it  implies  ia  diminishing  Absolute.  He 
believed  the  the  One  did  not  create  by  separation  into  parts,  but 
by  overflowing  out  o(f  its  superabundance.  Thus  the  lower  grada- 
tions were  not  really  emanations  from  the  One,  though  derived 
from  it.  His  monism  ventured  into  dangerous  ground  at  this 
point,  and  subsequent  development  of  the  system  resulted  in  a 
dualism  similar  to  that  effected  by  the  later  Stoics.  Plotinus  de- 
rived matter  from  the  One  as  far  as  existence  is  concerned,  but 
did  not  make  the  One  responsible  for  the  value  of  matter.  But 
the  distinction  between  the  source  and  the  derived  matter  came 
to  be  made  primarily  on  the  ground  of  value.  Where-as  Plotinus 


78  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

made  the  opposition  relative,  on  the  ground  that  the  One  was  true 
Being  and  the  Good,  and  a  thing  was  evil  in  proportion  as  it  was 
removed  from  its  source,  his  followers  made  the  distinction  abso- 
lute, not  relative,  on  the  basis  of  quality. 

Thus  Plotinus  may  be  said  to  deny  a  metaphysical  evil  by  say- 
ing that  every  gradation  is  good  in  itself,  i.  e.,  relatively.  He 
opposed  the  Gnostics  because  they  slighted  the  body  and  the 
senses.80  The  body  was  good  as  a  body,  just  as  a  house  was  good 
as  a  house,  though  one  might  move  into  a  palace  later.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  affirmed  evil  implicitly  at  least,  by  postulating  a 
gradation  of  perfection.  Later  Neo-Platonists,  as  has  already 
been  noted,  seized  upon  this  phase  of  thought,  and  then  had  an 
evil  from  which  man  was  to  be  saved.  The  metaphysical  system 
of  Neo-Platonism  is  of  interest  to  us  because  of  this  problem. 

Originally  salvation  was  realization  of  perfection  by  all  parts 
of  the  universe.  The  reversal  of  the  process  by  which  all  things 
were  derived  was  the  means  by  which  man  was  saved.  The  good 
was  superabundant;  it  overflowed  until  all  the  relative  goods 
were  perfected.81  That  is,  human  beings  existed  as  souls  in  the 
One  Soul,  and  at  birth  flowed  out  into  quasi-independent  souls. 
This  situation  in  itself  was  not  bad,  but  became  so  when  each 
sub-soul  forgot  its  source  and  final  resting  place.  "She  (the  soul) 
must  free  herself  from  all  outer  beings,  and  turn  to  what  is  al- 
together writhin;  she  must  have  no  inclination  towards,  may  not 
know  of,  outer  things.  Rather  must  she  pass  beyond  conscious- 
ness of  them  all  first  with  respect  to  her  own  condition  and  then 
with  respect  to  the  intelligible  existences.  She  must  lose  conscious- 
ness, too,  of  herself,  and  attain  to  the  vision  of  God,  and  become 
one  with  him."82  The  method  by  which  one  became  idenitfied 
with  God  was  contemplation.  Theory  was  above  practice.83  If 
the  soul  was  not  fascinated  by  its  own  creative  work,  and  turned 
back  in  reflection  to  her  own  source,  she  would  be  in  no  danger. 
Her  duty  was  to  exercise  her  better  nature  in  contemplation.8* 

Apparently  Plotinus  believed  that  there  was  a  divine  quality  in 
man  which  was  pure  and  unassailable,  and  which,  if  followed, 
would  lead  him  back  to  the  One  Soul.  In  this  Neo-Platonism  fol- 
lows the  main  outline  o!f  Stoicism.  Each  believed  in  a  divine 
insert.  The  Stoics  thought  of  it  as  substance,  Logos,  with  the 
properties  of  fire.  The  Neo-Platonists,  though  they  were  opposed 
to  giving  attributes,  called  it  Soul,  Reason,  or  the  One,  and  de- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  79 

scribed  its  activity,  not  in  terms  of  material  fire,  but  of  contem- 
plative thought.  Just  as  the  Stoic  was  to  be  fused  into  the  great 
Logds  out  of  which  he  came,  so  the  Neo-Platonist  was  to  be  blend- 
ed again  wih  the  One.  This  mystic  experience  was  rare.  Mian 
might  live  an  ordinary  life,  following  natural  instincts;  or  he 
might  live  on  the  plane  of  discursive  reason.  Occasionally  one 
might  attain  to  the  ecstatic  life  of  God.  Plotinus,  so  Porpyhry 
tells  us,  had  this  experience  four  times  in  the  six  years  during 
which  they  were  associated,  and  Porphyry  himself  attained  to 
it  once,  at  the  advanced  age  of  sixty-eight. 

In  all  this  there  is  a  great  deal  which  reminds  us  of  Indian 
thought.  There  is  the  same  desire  to  strip  off  all  attributes  in 
an  effort  to  reach  the  unalloyed  purity  of  the  All  One.  All  physi- 
cal elements  are  foreign  to  pure  being,  and  all  descriptive  terms 
tend  to  limit  and  entangle  in  materialism.  Hence  god  is  inde- 
scribable,— simply  the  One.  And  the  state  of  divine  bliss  to  which 
all  wish  to  rise,  is  a  sort  of  Nirvana  (which  is  not  oblivion,  as 
popularly  believed),  in  which  all  distinctions  between  the  sub- 
ject and  object  are  lost  in  the  complete  identity  which  results.85 

It  is  not  necessary  to  examine  here  the  developments  which 
took  place  under  the  influence  of  Neo-Pythagorean  dualism.  It 
is  sat  once  obvious  that  many  of  the  points  already  alluded  to 
would  only  be  more  sharply  accentuated.  The  Good,  as  pure 
spirit,  would  be  set  over  against  the  Evil,  or  Matter.  And  salva- 
tion from  Evil  would  be  more  picturesque  by  reason  of  the  oppo- 
sition. The  ecstatic  state  occasionally  reached  in  this  life  in 
which  one  transcended  all  material  surroundings,  would  be  con- 
tinued in  the  future  life,  by  an  awakening  free  from  the  thralldom 
of  the  body,  as  Plotinus  himself  said.86  87 

It  is  diffcult  to  evaluate  the  philosophies  of  the  Graeco-Eoman 
world  in  relation  to  the  problem  of  salvation,  by  means  of  a 
simple  summary.  On  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  there  lies 
behind  them  all  a  practical  dualism,  whether  the  system  be  theo- 
retically dualistic  or  not.  One  phase  o;f  the  universe  is  evil,  incom- 
plete, or  otherwise  undesirable;  the  other  phase  is  pure,  "one". 
Man  seeks  to  relate  himself  to  the  latter,  but  can  only  do  so 
by  virtue  of  his  original  connection  with  the  divine  or  pure  es- 
sence which  guarantees  the  present  incorporation  of  a  sufficient 
amount  of  divinity  to  make  his  salvation  possible.  It  is  when 
man's  real  being,  freed  from  all  dross,  comes  into  contact  with 


80  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

God  or  is  identified  with  him  that  he  is  saved.  Ethics  follows  in 
the  theory  as  a  secondary  matter,  however  important  it  may  be. 
Good  conduct  is  evidence  of  the  exercise  of  the  divinity  within 
one.  Man's  part  comes  in  the  volitional  use  of  that  divine  essence 
which  is  already  in  him,  but  after  all  he  is  not  the  sole  creator 
of  his  own  salvation,  or  even  the  first.  The  philosophies  are 
chiefly  to  be  differentiated  from  Judaism  by  the  absence  of  the 
picturesque  beliefs  in  a  personal  savior  who  performs  certain  acts 
designed  to  effect  ia  reconciliation  between  God  and  Man.  The 
philosophers  taught  that  each  man  was  saved  through  a  quality, 
an  essence,  which  was  within,  and  which  was  capable  of  trans- 
forming human  nature.  Among  the  Jews,  however,  there  was 
the  belief  that  men  dealt  with  God  as  a  person.  It  was  an  act 
which  pleased  him,  not  a  substance  which  merged  with  him,  that 
effected  salvation.  The  same  is  true  of  the  emperor  cult,  in  so 
far  as  it  had  religious  significance.  The  mysteries  had  the  same 
underlying  principle  that  characterized  the  philosophies, — that  oif 
a  divine  substance  blending  with  and  purifying  humanity  by  a 
sort  of  semi-magical,  semi-scientific  manipulation  of  forces. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  81 

CHAPTER   IV 

THE  PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIAN  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION 

In  the  preceding  pages  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  evaluate 
the  historic  phases  of  Jewish  and  Graeco-Roman  religious  life  as 
quests  for  salvation.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  litenature 
which  has  been  left  to  us  out  of  these  movements  indicates  the 
keen  desire  for  betterment  of  position  which  sent  those  ancient 
peoples  farther  out  into  the  field  'of  faith  and  speculation  in  an 
attempt  to  fathom  the  uncertainties  of  their  experience.  The 
stimuli  which  raised  the  questions  were  not  innate  in  the  mental 
make-up  of  the  people.  There  was  nothing  there  which  pre-de- 
termined  the  form  and  quality  of  the  solution  offered.  Much  less 
was  there  a  divinely  revealed  finality  either  to  question  or  answer. 
Rather  were  the  statements  regarding  salvation  simply  the  regis- 
tration of  attempts  made  to  anticipate  what  would  or  should  take 
place  for  the  good  o;f  the  distressed. 

It  is  important  to  note  at  the  outset  that  each  characteristic 
statement  may  not  be  an  entirely  new  solution  or  even  partially 
so,  but  that  it  registers  the  beliefs  evolved  in  certain  rather 
definite  social  situations.  Thus  the  soteriology  of  Jewish  faith, 
varying  widely  as  we  have  seen,  was  conditioned  always  by  the 
experiences  within  the  group,  land  particularly  by  the  opposition 
of  that  group  to  all  others  with  which  it  came  into  contact.  So 
rigid  were  the  ideas  of  nationality  that  the  idea  of  a  saved  king- 
dom was  never  given  up,  though  it  was  somewhat  dissipated  by 
the  rise  of  individualism  after  the  defeat  of  earthly  ambitions 
and  by  the  erection  of  apocalyptic  hopes.  In  the  absence  of  a 
unified  social  life  in  the  Graeco-Roman  world,  the  wide  diversity 
of  interests  tended  to  foster  a  great  deal  of  variation  and  incon- 
sistency of  religious  belief.  In  all  oases  people  sought  salvation 
in  terms  of  what  they  had  experienced  and  were  still  experienc- 
ing. Changes  in  experiences  were  marked  by  changes  in  the 
hopes  of  salvation. 

These  altogether  obvious  conclusions  are  of  considerable  value 
to  us  in  taking  up  the  study  of  Christian  salvation  beliefs.  There 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  ia  different  process  operated  here.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  actual  task  now  before  us  is  to  determine  what 
were  the  influences  which  caused  Christians  to  adopt  such  inter- 
pretations of  their  religious  life  as  they  did,  and  in  what  way  they 


82  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

operated.  If  there  was  (anything  in  the  formative  period  of  Chris- 
tian thought  which  was  distinct  from,  the  factors  operating  in 
other  religions,  it  will  (manifest  itself  in  an  adequate  study  and 
make  possible  an  evaluation  of  the  worth  and  meaning  it  had 
for  those  who  possessed  it. 

In  taking  up  the  consideration  of  early  Christian  interpreta- 
tions of  the  quest  for  salvation,  care  must  be  exercised  in  giving 
the  Christian  movement  its  proper  setting  in  the  midst  of  its  sur- 
roundings. With  regard  to  the  earliest  stage  of  its  development 
this  is  by  no  means  >an  easy  task,  for  the  simple  reason  that  no 
Christian  documents  have  been  preserved  from  this  period.  The 
epistles  of  Paul,  the  earliest  Christian  records-  which  we  possess, 
bear  the  stamp  of  the  second  stage  of  the  movement's  history, 
during  which  influnces  not  common  to  the  'most  primitive  form  of 
Christianity  miay  have  produced  some  changes.  The  same  is  true 
of  the  Synoptic  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  As  for  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  it  belongs  still  farther  along  in  the  time  when 
non-Jewish  thought  was  coiming  into  the  foreground.  The  re- 
maining literature  of  the  New  Testament  is  at  least  post-Pauline 
and  cannot  be  the  product  of  the  first  years  of  the  Christian 
group.  The  Apocalypse  of  John,  while  revealing  some  ifmtures 
which  must  have  been  present  from  the  very  first  in  that  type 
of  Christianity  which  most  closely  approached  the  eager  Jewish 
apocalypticism,  is  nevertheless  a  relatively  late  product. 

Although  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  study  to  ascertain  as 
far  las  possible  what  the  soteriology  of  the  earliest  Christians  was, 
it  is  not  our  task  to  discover  what  were  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
upon  the  subject.  At  best  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  if  discoverable, 
would  not  of  themselves  constitute  a  quest  for  salvation.  How- 
ever distinctive  they  may  have  been  in  the  midst  of  a  formal  re- 
ligion, they  were  only  a  variation  of  the  Jewish  quest  which  has 
.already  been  considered.  Aside  from  a  limited  number  of  pas- 
sages the  Synoptic  Gospels  do  not  indicate  that  Jesus  repudiated 
the  traditional  religion  of  his  people  or  preached  a  message  of 
universalism.  Slight  traces  of  universalism  do  occur  in  the  res- 
urrection accounts,  in  the  Matthean  -and  Lucan  introductions,  and 
rarely  in  the  body  of  the  gospels.  The  teachings  of  Jesus,  even 
in  these  documents  which  received  their  final  form  after  the  time 
of  primitive  Christianity,  are  everywhere  to  be  identified  with  the 
Jewish  quest  for  salvation.1  Even  as  sources  for  later  beliefs, 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  83 

their  value  to  us  would  be  rendered  somewhat  uncertain  by  the 
indisputable  fact  that  beliefs  which  Jesus  did  not  possess,  were 
introduced  into  the  Christian  message  and  oblitenated  its  primi- 
tive form,  and  can  hardly  be  differentiated  now  from  the  original 
statements.  It  is  just  this  fact  which  complicates  the  task  of  dis- 
covering what  the  earliest  group  of  Jesus'  followers  actually 
thought  and  taught.  It  would  be  easier  to  build  up  the  main 
message  of  the  early  Christians  from  contemporary  Jewish  re- 
ligion than  from  the  best  possible  reconstruction  of  Jesus'  mes- 
sage from  the  data  now  at  hand.  The  points  generally  empha- 
sized as  characteristic  of  Jesus'  teaching  are  those  variations 
from  the  traditional  Jewish  thought  which  it  is  assumed  that  he 
m'ade.  The  issue  of  the  matter  is  that  the  determination  of  what 
the  earliest  preachers  of  Christianity  set  forth  is  not  greatly 
hindered  by  the  uncertainty  of  what  Jesus  himself  taught.  Our 
immediate  problem  is  to  discover  the  nature  and  the  form,  if 
possible,  of  the  salvation  beliefs  which  were  built  up  about  the 
person  of  the  risen  Christ  by  those  unknown  Christian  preachers 
who  served  to  perpetuate  their  sect  in  the  midst  of  Jewish  re- 
ligious life  until  such  time  when  necessity  drove  them  out  into 
Gentile  surroundings  in  which  certain  adaptations  became  ob- 
ligatory. The  fact  thiat  Jesus  was  made  prominent  in  the  Chris- 
tian message,  constitutes  a  new  quest,  in  this  particular  radically 
different  from  the  traditional  Jewish  belief. 

It  follows  then  that  any  attempt  to  discover  the  ideals  which 
Christians  held  prior  to  about  A.  D.  50  must  be  based  upon  a 
carefully  and  skillfully  wrought  reconstruction  of  the  religious 
belief  and  hope  of  that  period  in  the  midst  of  which  the  new 
faith  lived.  The  connection  existing  between  early  Christianity 
land  Judjaism  is  the  foundation  upon  which  all  conclusions  must 
rest.  If  Christianity  were  to  be  thought  of  as  independent  of 
Jewish  religion,  there  could  be  no  wiay  of  conjecturing  with  any 
degree  of  probability  what  were  the  outstanding  features  of  the 
faith  prior  to  the  date  of  the  surviving  documents,  which  them- 
selves bear  no  internal  evidence  of  being  unchanged  records  from 
an  earlier  generation.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  at  once  patent  that 
Christianity,  in  its  earliest  discernible  stage  was  not  identical 
with  Judaism,  even  though  it  existed  for  a  time  merely  as  a 
Jewish  sect.  However  strenuously  one  may  emphasize  the  Hellen- 
istic character  of  Christianity  at  a  later  time,  even  to  the  extent 


84  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

of  claiming  that  the  cult  abandoned  (all  Jewish  connections  in 
order  to  save  itself  from  oblivion,  it  can  not  be  urged  that  there 
was  an  original  Christian  movement  'at  an  early  date  which  knew 
nothing  of  the  religion  of  the  Jewish  people,  lit  seems  proper, 
therefore,  to  insist  that  the  primitive  Christian  community  can 
not  be  understood  apart  from  its  Jewish  connections.  It  follows, 
also,  that  our  enquiry  into  the  nature  of  the  earliest  Christian 
quest  for  salvation  must  be  entered  upon  through  the  medium 
of  the  relationship  sustained  between  the  mother  faith  and  its 
schismatic  descendant.2  But  this  task  cannot  be  an  easy  one 
in  view  of  the  absence  of  direct  testimony  to  the  message  of  the 
earliest  Christians.  There  are  two  sources  from  which  this  mes- 
sage may  be  reconstructed,  and  both  of  these  are  indirect.  They 
are  1)  contemporary  Jewish  thought,  with  which  it  may  be  shown 
that  Christianity  once  had  connections,  land  2)  later  Christian 
thought,  such  as  the  Pauline  correspondence,  the  Synoptic  Gos- 
pels, and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  in  which  are  incorporated 
beliefs  which  can  only  have  arisen  out  of  an  association  of  Jews 
and  Christians  as  just  suggested.  The  miaterial  in  these  documents 
which  is  not  primitive  and  Jewish  must  be  either  a  contribution 
from  the  Graeco-Roman  world  or  a  creation  of  the  Christian 
community  itself.  The  procedure  to  be  followed  in  our  enquiry 
must  be  that  of  determining  as  far  as  possible  the  relationship 
which  existed  between  distinctly  Jewish  religion  and  that  of 
the  earliest  Christians,  and  the  kind  of  soteriology  held  by  the 
Christians  as  suggested  by  the  Jewish  faith  most  consonant  with 
such  expressions  of  religion  as  may  be  seen  in  the  earliest 
literature  now  preserved  in  the  New  Testament. 

In  disposing  of  the  question  as  to  the  relationship  which 
existed  between  the  Jews  and  the  Christians  in  the  early  years 
of  the  history  of  the  latter,  there  are  certain  considerations  of  a 
very  simple  but  primary  character  which  must  be  taken  into 
account.  Thus  the  earliest  Christians,  by  whatever  distinguishing 
name  they  may  have  been  called,  were  Jews,  and,  so  far  as  known, 
Palestinians.  On  the  geographical  side,  Christianity  could  be  of 
Jewish  origin  only,  unless  by  some  chance  Gentile  culture  had 
become  well  enough  established  in  Palestine  to  offer  its  support 
to,  or  even  create,  a  new  religious  movement.  The  extent  to 
which  Greek  ideas  had  by  this  time  penetrated  Jewish  life  and 
thought  is  little  more  than  a  matter  of  conjecture  at  present, 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  85 

although  it  is  known  that  as  eiarly  as  the  Maccabees  violent 
opposition  to  Graecizing  propaganda  had  arisen,  iand  had  been 
continued  during  the  Roman  period  in  the  occasional  outbursts 
o'f  frenzy  which  the  populace,  incited  by  priests  or  other  fanatics, 
participated  in.3  But  even  if  foreign  influences  had  become 
prominent  in  Palestine,  by  the  first  half  of  the  first  Christian 
century,  there  is  nothing  in  subsequent  developments  within  the 
new  religious  movement  to  indicate  that  they  had  operated 
perceptibly  in  its  formation.  The  Church  at  Jerusalem  was  long 
considered  the  mother  church,  even  after  there  had  arisen  a 
decided  conflict  in  belief  and  practice.4  This  hostility  between 
Jews  land  Christians  does  not  presuppose  the  development  of  a 
Christian  movement  unrelated  to  the  Jewish  religion.  If  the 
Christian  movement  had  developed  unrelated,  there  would  proba- 
bly have  been  only  temporary  friction.  In  fact  the  antagonism 
between  Jews  and  Christians  points  definitely  to  the  origin  and 
growth  (for  a  time)  o;f  Christianity  in  Jewish  soil. 

Aside  from  such  inferential  judgments  as  the  one  just  stated, 
there  is  some  corroborative  testimony  of  a  somewhat  positive 
character  in  the  same  direction.  The  Hellenistic  Jewish  Christian 
Stephen  justified  himself  before  the  high  priest  by  an  appeal  to 
the  history  of  the  Jews.5  Though  he  opposed  the  Jews  and  was 
opposed  by  them,  his  chief  defence  was  an  unmistakable  identi- 
fication of  his  own  faith  with  that  which  his  accusers  professed 
to  believe.  He  even  speaks  of  "our  race"  and  "our  fiathers", 
as  if  by  so  doing  he  might  rob  his  opponents  of  any  opportunity 
to  accuse  him  of  being  false  to  the  s'acred  ideals  of  Jewish 
tradition.6  The  Apostle  Paul  seems  to  have  taken  a  similar  course 
in  his  defences  before  Jewish  audiences.7  Throughout  he  main- 
tained that  he  was  a  loyal  Jew  "after  the  straightest  sect  of  our 
religion",  and  "had  done  nothing  against  the  people,  or  the 
customs  of  our  fathers. ' ' 

The  vision  o'f  Peter  and  its  interpretation,8  also  indicate  how 
closely  bound  up  with  strictly  Jewish  life  were  the  eiarly  Chris- 
tians. This  dream  seems  to  have  arisen  to  justify  the  hitherto 
unheard-of  practice  of  admitting  within  the  circle  those  who 
had  not  been  rigid  observers  of  the  law  of  the  Jews.  Nothing 
less  than  the  sanction  of  God's  revelation  could  give  this  proced- 
ure a  right  to  exist  according  to  the  estimation  of  probably  a 
very  large  proportion  of  the  leaders.  Even  with  the  validation  of 


86  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

the  dream,  the  willingness  of  the  more  progressive  met  with 
decided  opposition  for  some  time,  because  of  the  fear  that  the 
faith  o'f  the  Christian  sect  might  itself  become  un-Jewish.  It 
would  seem  that  the  Jews  in  their  hostility  to  the  still  undif- 
ferentiated  {movement  called  it  a  sect,  thus  recognizing  it  as 
Jewish.9  On  the  other  hand,  the  advocates  of  the  new  message 
themselves  saw  no  necessary  cleavage,  for  some  Jews  who  had 
identified  themselves  with  the  Way  were  still  distinguished 
within  the  group  by  pre-Christian  designations.10 

Frequently  in  Acts  and  the  Pauline  correspondence  there 
occur  passages  which  show  the  jealousy  of  the  rigid  legalists 
at  the  admission  of  Gentiles  who  had  in  no  way  taken  upon 
themselves  the  responsibility  of  keeping  the  law.11  The  conference 
at  Jerusalem,  the  compromise,  the  preaching  of  Paul  to  the 
Gentiles,  the  success  of  that  venture,12  and  his  finial  decision 
to  preach  among  the  Jews  no  more,  point  unmistakably  to  a 
time  just  previous  to  his  Gentile  mission  during  which  Christian- 
ity could  have  differed  from  conventional  Judaism  in  but  few 
points.  Apparently  the  difference  was  summed  up  in  one  issue : 
Jesus  was  the  Christ,  to  which  the  regular  Jews  could  not  assent. 

The  Gospels,  apart  from  any  question  as  to  their  accuracy 
in  representing  the  thought  and  practice  of  the  period  with  which 
they  deal,  may  be  called  upon  to  testify  to  (this  same  point.  The 
instructions  given  to  the  apostles  that  they  "go  not  into  any 
way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  enter  not  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans : 
but  rather  go  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel '  ',13  are  rettnin- 
iscent  of  the  early  particularism  shared  by  the  Christian  Jews  and 
the  regular  Jews  alike,  or  <at  least  of  the  time  when  the  question 
of  the  Gentile  mission  was  raised.  The  story  of  the  Syrophoeni- 
cian  woman14  is  similar  in  its  import.  With  these  may  be 
associated  the  statement  made  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  that  "sal- 
vation is  from  the  Jews",15 — &n  unexpected  source  for  such  a 
sentiment. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  sub/mit  additional  evidence  of  the  close 
bond  which  existed  between  Jews  and  the  schismatic  Christians 
prior  to  the  greater  break  which  took  place  a  number  of  years 
(after  the  death  of  Jesus,  and  in  which,  so  far  as  our  records 
inform  us,  Paul  took  the  most  prominent  part.  That  there  was 
a  close,  organic  union  is  indisputable.  The  Christians  worshipped 
with  the  Jews  in  the  synagogues,  visited  the  temple,  kept  the 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  87 

law,  in  short  were  in  entire  accord  with  certain  quite  respectable 
Jews,  (no  doubt  Pharisees),  differing  only  on  the  identifi- 
cation of  Jesus  with  the  Messiah,16  whom  both  groups  awaited. 

In  as  much  las  the  Christians  were  at  first  nothing  more  than 
a  sect  o>f;  the  Jews,  it  follows  that  the  hope  of  salvation  which 
they  entertained  was  very  like  that  which  was  held  within  con- 
temporary Judaism.  But  since  the  Jews  themselves  were  not 
agreed  as  to  the  way  in  which  salvation  could  be  secured,  the 
problem  of  determining  how  the  Christians  first  sought  for  a 
solution  ciannot  be  dismissed  by  the  mere  recognition  of  early 
Christianity's  Jewish  connections.  There  rettriains  the  further 
task  of  ascertaining  with  what  phase  of  Jewish  thought  Chris- 
tianity had  closest  affinities  and  in  what  particulars  differences 
arose. 

There  were  in  Jewish  religion,  two  extreme  types  of  salvation 
belief.  These  were,  on  the  one  hand,  the  hope  of  ta  more  or  less 
militaristic  and  nationalistic  conquest,  and  on  the  other,  the 
hope  of  an  apocalyptic  salvation  which  was  to  find  complete 
expression  in  the  Heavenly  Kingdom  of  God.  Between  these  two 
extremes  there  were  the  various  modifications  which  Jewish 
life  produced.17 

The  first  hope  was  the  perpetuation  of  the  ambitions  and 
designs  of  that  line  <of  patriotic  leaders  of  which  David  was  the 
ideal.  The  most  characteristic  expression  of  this  kind  of  salva- 
tion are  to  be  seen  especially  in  the  final  establishment  of  the 
Davidic  kingdom,  the  burning  passion  of  some  of  the  prophets 
who  endeavored  to  save  Israel  from  the  consequences  of  her 
downfall  before  the  great  power  of  her  neighbors,  and  in  the 
vain  but  heroic  struggles  of  the  Maccabees.  The  Zealots,  as  & 
party,  not  to  mention  several  radical  individuals,  from  time  to 
time  fanned  the  embers  of  nationalism  into  flames  in  the  effort 
to  try  once  more  to  save  Israel  from  disappearing  as  a  nation  and 
to  place  her  over  the  world  as  Jehovah  intended  from  the  first 
she  should  be.  Such  aspirations  as  these  were  dreaded  by  the 
Romans,  and  every  effort  was  miade  to  suppress  all  outbursts  of 
fanaticism.  The  course  of  procedure  followed  by  Rome  in  dealing 
with  the  Jews  was  largely  determined  by  the  necessity  of  fore- 
stalling any  attempt  made  by  unyielding  Jews  toward  setting 
up  an  independent  government. 

But  did  the  Christians  themselves  preach  an  earthly  kingdom 


88  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

for  which  they  wished  to  secure  recruits?  It  is  impossible  to 
think  of  Jesus  as  having  been  the  advocate  of  such  a  means  of 
salvation.  It  is  far  more  probable  that  he  was  interested  in  the 
establishment  of  the  Heavenly  Kingdom  through  the  sudden 
intervention  of  Jehovah.  But  again  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  it  is  not  Jesus'  thought  which  must  be  fathomed,  but  rather 
that  of  those  who  preached  the  risen  Christ  <as  the  savior  tand  the 
central  figure  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

There  are  in  the  New  Testament  a  few  passages  which  seem 
to  indicate  that  the  Christian  movement  came  into  some  contact 
with  the  ideal  of  the  Davidic  kingdom,  but  apparently  without 
being  fundamentally  impressed  by  it.  The  genealogies  employed 
by  Matthew,18  and  Luke,19  are  inconsistent  with  the  story  of 
the  miraculous  birth,  and  are  not  necessary  in  connection  with 
the  belief  in  a  Heavenly  Messiah  who  is  yet  to  come  and  establish 
his  power.  But  it  is  here  thiat  occasion  was  given  for  adding 
to  the  apocalyptic  Messiah  the  credentials,  if  not  the  mission,  of 
the  Davidic  Messiah.  Jesus,  whom  some  of  the  early  Christians 
had  personally  known,  was  again  to  come  into  their  midst.  The 
identification  of  Jesus  and  the  Christ,  while  it  recognized  his 
task  as  that  which  had  long  been  held  by  the  fathers,  did  not 
automatically  impute  to  him  the  method  by  which  the  Davidic 
Messiah  had  been  expected  to  effect  his  great  work.  Other  data, 
centering  about  the  early  days  of  Jesus'  life,  during  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  evangelists,  his  God-given  qualifications  were 
attested,  are  apparently  to  'be  interpreted  in  the  same  way.  Thus 
Jesus  was  given  the  authority  of  the  nationalistic  Messiah  (i.  e., 
he  was  recognized  by  God  through  prophecy  as  destined  to  save 
his  people),  but  not  expected  to  establish  the  kingdom  by  the 
sword.  In  the  annunciation  of  the  angel  to  Mary,20  Jesus  was 
promised  "the  throne  of  his  father  David",  "and  of  his  kingdom 
there  shall  be  no  end".  Similarly  the  Magi  came  and  enquired 
of  Herod,  "Where  is  he  that  is  born  king  of  the  Jews?"21  The 
prophecy  of  Zachiarias  22,  which  reads  like  an  Old  Testament 
psalm,  is  an  expression  of  hope  for  salvation  from  enemies  of 
the  people  of  God,  and  for  peaceful  repose  in  his  presence.  And 
Anna,  the  prophetess,  when  she  saw  the  child  Jesus,  "spake  of 
him  to  all  them  that  were  looking  for  the  redemption  of  Jeru- 
salem".23 The  language  of  these  passages  savors  of  the  national- 
istic type  of  salvation  as  it  had  been  traditionally  held  by 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  89 

certain  groups  of  Jews.  Coming  from,  a  period  when  interpretation 
of  the  mission  of  Jesus  had  reached  a  relatively  advanced  stage, 
these  references  are  to  be  viewed  in  the  same  way  as  the 
genealogies,  as  enrichments  of  the  credentials  of  Jesus,  not  as 
statements  of  belief  that  Jesus  was  to  establish  his  Messianic 
kingdom  by  the  sword. 

The  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem2*  seems  to  reflect  a 
popular  belief  in  the  Davidic  kingdom  which  was  in  some  way  as- 
sociated with  Jesus.  The  inscription  placed  on  Jesus'  cross, 
however,  while  offering  clear  evidence  that  some  Jews  were 
expecting  an  able  leader  to  overthrow  the  Roman  yoke,  at  the 
same  time  establishes  the  fact  that  the  evangelists  themselves 
did  not  consider  Jesus  to  be  that  leader.25  The  immediate  fol- 
lowers are  represented  in  Acts,26  as  asking  Jesus  before  his 
ascension  if  he  would  at  that  time  "restore  the  kingdom  to 
Israel?" — a  question  which  in  view  of  the  answer  given,  is  most 
easily  reconciled  with  a  hope  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  nationalistic 
program. 

In  spite  of  the  occasional  passages  which  apparently  set 
forth  the  more  material  aims  of  the  Jewish  people,  it  can  hardly 
be -supposed  that  sanction  was  given  at  any  time  in  the  history 
of  the  early  Christian  movement  to  propaganda  in  the  direction 
of  such  a  movement  as  developed  in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees 
or  during  any  of  the  less  significant  periods  of  revolution.  It 
is  probable,  however,  that  the  credentials  by  which  the  Davidic 
king  would  establish  his  authority  came  to  have  in  the  minds 
of  the  early  preachers  of  the  Christian  message  a  certain  value 
in  enriching  the  emotional  response  made  to  Jesus,  now  the  risen 
Christ,  who  would  soon  come  as  God's  vice-gerent  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven.  Such  being  the  case,  the  first  generation  of  Christians 
could  look  back  and  picture  Jesus  as  an  infiant  accredited  fully 
as  the  Messiah  by  Davidic  sonship  as  well  as  in  other  ways.  There 
was  a  certain  parallel  between  his  entry  into  Jerusalem,  at  least 
in  the  minds  of  his  later  admirers,  and  that  which  the  Davidic 
Messiah  might  make.  The  difficult  problem  of  reconciling  the 
earthly  career  of  Jesus  with  his  apocalyptic  function  was  only 
made  possible  by  appropriating  some  of  the  less  conflicting 
imagery  of  the  Son  of  David  with  which  to  make  the  years  of 
Jesus'  life  among  men  seem  significant.  Belief  in  the  ideal 
Heavenly  Messiah  did  not  neccessitate  very  clear  definitions. 


90  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

In  Jewish  thought  this  Messiah  was  seldom  prominent.27  The 
less  attention  there  was  centered  upon  the  earthly  life  of  Jesus 
and  the  more  upon  his  apocalyptic  function,  the  fewer  would 
be  the  allusions  to  him  in  terms  of  the  Davidic  Messiah. 

When  it  was  that  the  Christians  began  to  interpret  the  life 
of  Jesus  in  connection  with  his  Messiahship  can  not  be  said.  In 
the  early  part  of  Acts,  in  which  are  contained  some  of  the  most 
primitive  expressions  olf  Christian  faith,  the  principal  message 
is  seen  as  the  announcement  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  i.  e.,  the 
apocalyptic  Messiah.  While  on  earth  Jesus  wias  "a  man  approved 
of  God  by  mighty  works  and  wonders  and  signs  which  God  did 
by  him".28  But  "God  hath  made  him  both  Lord  and  Christ, 
this  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified."29  The  crucial  point  by  which  all 
faith  was  tested  was  belief  in  Jesus  as  the  coming  Messiah.  A 
reconstruction  of  the  preaching  of  the  period  after  the  deiath  of 
Jesus  and  before  the  time  of  Paul's  known  .activity,  calls  for 
the  postulation  of  a  certain  lapse  of  time  during  which  there  was 
no  keen  interest  in  the  earthly  life  of  Jesus  and  consequently  no 
necessity  of  a  reconciliation  of  that  life  with  his  future  task, 
and  during  which  Jesus  wtas  thought  of  as  "a  man  approved  of 
God"  and  "the  Christ  who  hath  been  appointed".30  At  a  later 
time,  re-interpretations,  such  as  those  reviewed  in  the  preceding 
paragraphs,  became  necessary.  Paul's  rather  meagre  testimony 
to  the  life  of  Jesus  would  indicate  that  this  process  htad  not  been 
going  on  for  long.  By  so  far  as  the  date  of  the  interpretations 
is  pushed  forward,  the  length  of  the  period  during  which  primi- 
tive Christianity  preached  Jesus  without  specific  Davidic 
qualifications  is  increased.  But  as  indicated  above,  only  the 
credentials,  not  the  mission  of  the  nationalistic  Messiah,  were 
attached  to  Jesus  at  any  time  during  the  period  in  question.31 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  earliest  generation  of  Chris- 
tians, who  were  not  sharply  separated  from  their  Jewish  brethren, 
did  not  follow  those  who  sought  to  secure  salvation  in  the  way 
approved  by  the  eager  advocates  of  military  measures  who  ex- 
pected God  to  bless  their  swords  and  give  the  kingdom  into  their 
keeping.  The  evidence  is  scanty  and  indirect,  but  the  inferences 
which  may  be  drawn  are  valid  in  view  of  the  more  positive 
testwniony  to  the  adherence  of  the  Christians  to  the  conventional 
ideas  of  apocalyptic  salvation  supplemented  by  the  one  great 


IN  NEIV  TESTAMENT  TIMES  91 

differentiating  tenet  of  their  faith,  that  Jesus  whom  they  had 
known  was  none  other  than  the  Messiah  of  God. 

A  blending  of  the  apocalyptic  and  Davidic  Messianism  had 
already  taken  place  in  the  strictly  Jewish  thought  under  stress 
of  an  insistent  nationalism,.32  This  urgent  particularism,,  so 
characteristic  of  Jewish  religion  at  practically  every  point,  was 
responsible  for  nuany  of  the  outbursts  of  opposition  to  the  police 
power  established  by  Rome  for  the  sake  of  order  and  quiet.33 
In  the  case  of  the  earliest  Christians,  the  nationalism  of  their 
Jewish  inheritance  was  modified  by  the  shifting  of  stress  from 
the  Kingdom  itself  to  the  Messiah  and  by  the  necessity  of  relating 
in  a  vital  way,  the  earthly  life  of  Jesus  to  his  apocalyptic  office. 
This  tended  also  to  give  the  Messiah  a  prominence  as  Savior, 
which  was  unnecessary  and  unusual  in  Judaism. 

At  the  other  extreme  of  Jewish  soteriology  from  the  national- 
istic hope  was  the  (apocalyptic  expectation.  This  was  more 
thoroughly  incorporated  into  Christian  thought,  if  we  may  judge 
fram  the  records,  than  was  the  nationalistic  ideal.  The  Christians 
were  the  "spiritual  descendants"  of  those  Jews  who  had  an  other 
worldly  interest.  Pessimism  with  regard  to  the  possibility  of 
men  securing  a  fulfilment  of  their  desires  under  the  leadership 
of  a  literal  or  figurative  son  of  David,  did  not  eventuate  in  abso- 
lute rejection  of  the  hope  of  salvation.  It  was  to  be  brought 
about,  however,  by  one  who  had  more  of  God's  authority  and 
power  than  could  reside  in  any  earth-born  leader.  The  Messiah, 
though  described  with  characteristic  Jewish  imagery,  was 
nevertheless  somewhat  Lacking  in  distinctness.  The  important 
thing  was  that  Jehovah  alone  was  powerful  enough  to  redeem 
his  children  from  their  enemies  into  whose  hands  they  had  fallen 
because  of  their  sins  or  because  of  unknown  but  unquestionable 
divine  plans.  The  far  removal  of  the  source  of  saving  power 
in  the  person  of  Jehovah  and  the  indistinctness  of  his  representa- 
tive, the  Mjessiah,  was  a  clear  challenge  to  those  who  believed  in 
the  risen  Jesus  as  in  some  way  bearing  the  credentials  of  the 
Messiah,  to  announce  hiitf  as  such,  and  thus  vitalize  the  old  faith 
by  preaching  a  tangible  savior  possessed  of  all  the  power  of 
Jehovah  himself.  That  this  was  done  is  apparent  from  the  New 
Testament,  but  the  assumption  that  Jesus'  admirers  regarded 
him  as  Messiah  while  they  were  associated  with  him,  is  a  matter 
open  to  serious  question. 


92  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

The  enquiry  as  to  whether  or  not  the  first  Christians  preached 
an  apocalyptic  message,  is  at  least  half  answered  in  the  affirmative 
by  the  decision  that  they  were  not  Zealots  anxious  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  earthly  throne  by  the  use  of  the  sword.  Again 
there  is  an  embarassing  absence  of  direct  testimony  on  this  point. 
The  only  evidence  which  may  be  brought  forward  is  to  be  found 
in  the  contelmporary  teachings  of  the  Jews  who  looked  for  the 
sudden  'manifestation  of  God's  power  and  in  the  latter  expressions 
of  Christian  faith  as  it  is  related  to  this  subject. 

Late  Jewish  iapo<calypticism  has  been  dealt  with  in  a  former 
chapter  and  now  needs  only  to  be  summarized.  The  failure  of 
Jewish  armies  and  statesmanship  to  miake  tangible  the  fond 
hopes  of  the  nation's  history,  had  resulted  in  the  even  more 
audacious  belief  that  God,  though  angry  because  of  their  sins, 
would  nevertheless  give  his  people  dominion  over  the  earth  and 
finally  a  life  of  eternal  bliss  in  his  presence.  Further  reflection 
on  the  disappointment  of  human  hopes  fostered  the  spirit  of 
individualism,  by  which  the  faith  in  a  personal  r  surrection  and 
vindication  was  furthered.  But  always  there  was  a  longing  for 
the  salvation  of  the  whole  nation  in  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The 
Messiah,  at  first  one  appointed  for  the  duties  of  leadership  from 
out  the  ranks  of  men  and  later  a  heavenly  being  who  had  the 
power  and  authority  of  God,  was  not  primarily  the  savior  of 
men  except  as  he  was  acting  in  the  place  of  Jehovah  himself. 
Those  who  were  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  the  kingdom  life  in 
the  future,  must  qualify  for  it  now.  The  conditions  were  met 
by  so  conducting  oneself  as  to  please  God  through  whose  kindness 
the  result  was  to  be  effected.  Although  there  was  in  all  proba- 
bility, a  certain  blending  of  nationalistic  imagery  with  apocalyptic 
hope,  there  is  little  indication  that  tjhe  claimant  to  earthly 
messiahship  was  expected  to  die  and  ascend  to  heaven  whence 
he  would  come  with  renewed  power  in  order  to  carry  out  his 
task  completely.34  The  Messiah  can  hardly  under  such  circum- 
stances have  been  thought  of  as  the  central  figure  in  the  cult. 
He  was  the  medium  through  whom  a  transcendentalized  God 
worked.  He  carried  out  the  will  of  his  overlord,  Jehovah,  in 
the  foundation  of  the  Kingdom,  just  as  man  was  obliged  to  carry 
out  the  will  of  God  in  gaining  admission  to  the  kingdom.  The 
usual  picture  of  the  Messiah  credited  him  with  such  a  function 
as  this  to  express  .  Such  interests  as  arose  from  time  to  time  in 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  93 

the  minds  of  religious  people  were  registered  in  additional  duties 
which  the  Messiah  was  expected  to  perfotfm.  Thus  fear  of  the 
demons  who  were  responsible  for  all  of  man's  ills  made  the 
Messiah  the  agent  for  redemption  from  them ;  he  also  was  the  one 
who  would  secure  redemption  for  man  from  his  sins  through  the 
final  victory  of  righteousness.35 

The  composite  Jewish  picture  of  (apocalyptic  salvation,  as 
seen  above,  was  further  enriched  by  an  appeal  to  the  law.  By 
careful  observance  of  its  regulations  the  benefits  of  the  Messiah's 
work  were  assured.  Yet  to  Paul  and  his  Christian  associates 
the  burden  of  the  law  had  become  well  nigh  beyond  endurance. 
Therefore  his  great  need  made  the  Christ  a  savior  from  the  law. 
But  among  the  great  majority  of  Jews  no  such  conclusion  was 
reached  because  the  law  was  one  of  the  means  by  which  man 
might  make  himself  ready  for  the  sudden  salvation  of  the  Lord. 
It  was  believed  that  faithful  observance  of  the  law  by  all  Israel 
for  two  Sabbaths  would  so  prepare  human  hearts  for  the  mani- 
festation of  the  kingdom  that  the  consummation  of  the  ages 
would  be  'achieved.36  So  confident  was  Judaism  in  the  efficacy 
of  the  law  that  greatly  elaborated  modifications  were  expounded 
by  the  rabbis  in  the  belief  that  the  law  as  the  will  of  God  should 
be  more  zealously  guarded.  The  life  of  the  people  was  bound 
down  by  countless  requirements  which  had  no  better  foundation 
than  casuistry.  But  in  spite  of  all  the  meticulous  demands  of 
the  priesthood  we  see  no  indication  that  there  was  any  other 
thought  entertained  than  that  the  law  was  the  best  means  by 
which  the  process  of  salvation  might  be  furthered  previous  to 
the  coming  of  the  Messiah.37 

All  these  elements  of  the  Jewish  soteriology  are  on  a  priori 
grounds  compatible  with  the  earliest  Christian  message  as  far 
as  we  are  able  to  recover  it.  There  certainly  was  a  consistent 
belief  that  the  Messiah  would  soon  come  unexpectedly  and  bring 
to  an  end  this  present  world  order.  This  was  fairly  prominent 
in  the  mind  of  Paul.38  The  synoptic  gospels  also  give  considerable 
prominence  to  this  expectation.  In  most  cases  there  is  silence  on 
the  point  that  keeping  the  law  would  in  any  way  affect  the 
coming  of  the  kingdom.  Matthew,  it  is  true,  makes  Jesus  say 
that  the  law  should  remain  absolutely  unchanged  until  all  things 
were  accomplished.39  But  contemporaneous  with  Paul  there  were 
many  legalistic  Christians  who  insisted  that  all  should  obey  the 


94  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

law;  and  Paul's  greatest  conflict  was  on  this  issue.  This  would 
point  back  to  an  earlier  time  when  the  law  in  all  probability  was 
at  least  as  fully  recognized  in  the  preaching  of  most  Christians 
as  it  was  among  the  Judaizers.  The  Matthean  'account  of  the 
Seilmon  on  the  Mount  in  which  Jesus  seems  to  repudiate  the  law 
can  not  be  construed  as  having  the  sharpness  of  Paul's  polemic 
against  the  legalism  of  his  Jewish-Christian  opponents.  Even 
the  cutting  statements  about  eating  with  unwashed  hands  are 
only  protests  against  hollowness  and  superficiality,  not  against 
law  as  such.40  Jesus  felt  himself  free  to  criticize  the  literalness 
of  the  law  as  it  was  interpreted  by  the  narrower  minds  of  his 
day.  That  he  should  do  so  did  not  make  him  un- Jewish.  His 
presence  in  the  synagogue  and  his  participation  in  the  regular 
feasts  o'f  his  people  indicate  a  kindly  attitude  toward  the  keeping 
of  the  law  in  the  proper  way  as  he  attempted  to  interpret  it  in 
terms  of  human  worth. 

There  is  thus  no  reason  for  supposing  that  Jesus'  immediate 
followers  set  aside  the  law  as  a  valuable  means  of  assistance  in 
securing  the  salvation  of  the  kingdom.  The  way  in  which  they 
expounded  the  law  probably  ranged  all  the  way  from  its  sub- 
jection to  human  ends,  which  must  have  been  Jesus'  ideal,  to 
the  harsher  exaltation  of  the  law  as  in  some  way  final  of  itself. 

If  the  law  was  kept  in  the  early  days  of  the  Christian  move- 
ment, (and  there  seems  to  be  no  sound  reason  if  or  doubting  it), 
there  are  few  points  left  in  which  the  message  could  have  differed 
from  that  of  other  religious  leaders  in  the  same  community.  We 
have  no  grounds  on  which  to  postulate  >a  difference  in  the  kingdom 
idea.  Even  beyond  the  period  which  covers  the  history  of  the 
most  primitive  phase  o:f  Christian  development,  the  typical  ideas 
of  the  apocalyptic  message  were  unrestrained,  and  they  probably 
had  been  all  the  while.  If,  as  some  would  insist,  Jesus  himself 
taught  differently,  his  interpretations  must  have  soon  been  over- 
balanced by  a  return  to  the  characteristically  Jewish  imagery. 
However  it  seems  improbable  that  Jesus,  living  in  the  midst  of 
apocalyptic  beliefs  and  shrinking  from  nationalistic  and  milita- 
ristic lambitions,  would  have  had  occasion  to  evolve  such  a  theory 
of  progressive  evolution  as  that  which  is  prevalent  today.41  But 
whatever  was  the  message  of  Jesus  himself  on  this  point,  it  must 
be  insisted  that  the  glorious  kingdom  of  Heaven  was  the  general 
expectation  of  the  Christian  community  for  no  short  period  of 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  95 

time,  and  through  it  men  were  to  be  saved  from  the  distress  of 
the  present  world.452  The  affinity  during  this  period  of  Christian- 
ity for  Judaism  iand  the  certain  presence  of  this  belief  in  later 
Christianity,  admit  o'f  no  doubt  ion  this  point,  though  we  lack 
quotable  evidence  and  proof  aside  from  Paul,  the  Synoptic  Gospels 
and  Acts,  which,  though  written  later  than  the  time  in  question, 
contain  traditions  which  grew  up  then. 

The  only  change  which  it  was  necessary  for  the  Christians  to 
make  in  their  beliefs  concerning  salvation  was  that  the  Messiah 
of  God  who  was  to  usher  in  the  kingdoim,  was  not  the  vague, 
indefinite  figure  pictured  by  the  apocalyptists,  but  one  who  had 
been  among  men,  Jesus,  now  risen  from  the  death  of  crucifixion, 
and  fully  recognized  by  God  as  his  Chosen  One.  This  was  indeed 
a  change;  it  constituted  an  issue  among  the  Jews  about  which 
there  was  much  discussion  'and  dispute.  The  activity  of  Jesus  as 
he  quitely  taught  the  necessity  of  heart  righteousness  had  been 
opposed  by  practically  all  his  contemporaries.  None  of  the  promi- 
nent Jews  could  assent  very  heartily  to  his  message,  even  though 
impressed  by  it.43  Moreover  the  majority  of  those  same  Jews 
were  filled  with  bitter  opposition  and  connived  together  and  by 
suggesting  to  the  Roman  authorities  that  Jesus  was  a  menace  to 
the  government,  assisted  in  bringing  an  end  to  his  career.  Now 
to  bring  forward  the  claim  that  this  same  Jesus  was  none  other 
than  the  Messiah  who  was  soon  to  comic  with  the  kingdoim,  could 
produce  only  denial  from  those  who  had  previously  opposed 
Jesus.  In  any  event,  it  was  a  hard  thing  for  a  Jew  to  acknowledge 
that  the  mild-mannered  Jesus  was  the  conquering  Mlessiah. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  who  had  participated  in  the  res- 
urrection experiences  had  a  perfect  vindication  of  their  faith. 
Had  not  they  seen  Jesus  raised  froim  the  dead  and  possessed  of 
a  personality  such  as  only  the  Messiah  could  have?  It  is  true 
that  they  believed  that  other  persons  had  been  raised  from  the 
dead,  but  these  had  not  been  exalted  to  the  right  hand  of  God. 
In  the  case  of  Jesus  there  could  be  no  mistake  in  their  minds. 
He  bad  been  seen  by  many,44  and  his  conduct  had  been  such  as 
to  demonstrate  his  unusual  position.  With  such  a  conviction 
as  this  in  their  hearts,  it  was  impossible  for  the  early  members 
of  the  Christian  community  to  acquiesce  in  the  uncertain  and 
incomplete  theories  of  their  Jewish  comrads  in  religion.  The 
definiteness  of  the  Messiah  of  armies,  such  as  the  Maccabaean 


96  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

revolt  furnished,  was  made  possible  to  those  who  longed  for  the 
manifestation  of  God's  kingdom  in  glory.  Jesus  was  a  known 
individual,  as  contrasted  with  the  usual  (apocalyptic  Messiah. 
Thus  he  gradually  became,  as  the  controversy  over  his  identi- 
fication with  the  coming  Savior  grew  sharper,  the  center  of  a 
new  cult  within  the  circle  of  typically  Jewish  religious  thought. 
The  confession  of  Peter  at  Caesarea  Philippi45  marks  a  primitive 
identification  of  Jesus  with  the  Messiah.  The  only  alternatives 
suggested  are  such  as  might  arise  in  a  strictly  Jewish  circle; 
some  said  that  Jesus  might  have  been  the  reincarnation  of  some 
ancient  prophet  (or  of  John  the  Baptist),  but  the  words  of  Peter 
indicate  that  the  fact  of  Jesus'  Messiahship  was  essential  in 
the  belief  of  his  followers.  The  account,  whether  accepted  as 
a  record  of  a  definite  event  in  Jesus'  experience,  or  more  proba- 
bly, as  a  subsequent  evaluation  placed  upon  Jesus  by  traditional 
interpretation,  leaves  little  doubt  that  the  one  test  point  by  which 
a  true  disciple  might  be  determined  by  the  early  church,  was  his 
acceptance  of  Peter's  statement.  The  preaching  of  John  the 
Baptist  was  \a  message  of  the  kingdom,  more  than  of  the  Messiah. 
He  urged  men  to  repentance  because  the  kingdom  was  at  hand.46 
The  Mightier  One  who  was  to  follow  him  was  not  an  independent 
individual,  but  the  one  through  whom  the  kingdom  was  to  be 
made  effective.47  Jesus  also  preached  the  same  message,  saying, 
"Repent  ye;  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."48  One  can 
hardly  resist  the  conclusion  that  practically  all  the  statements 
recorded  in  the  Gospels  which  deal  with  the  importance  of  Jesus' 
Messiahship,  are  the  result  of  a  heightening  of  judgments  about 
him  under  the  influence  of  the  Christian  propaganda  which  start- 
ed when  the  early  disciples  'and  apostles  began  the  process  of 
interpretation  which  finally  eventuated  in  the  elaborate  Christ- 
ology  of  later  centuries.  Salvation  was  the  primary  interest. 
When  Jesus  began  to  be  the  person  through  whom  this  could 
be  brought  about  better  than  through  any  other,  his  importance 
rapidly  increased. 

The  preaching  of  the  apostles  about  Jesus  must  have  been 
at  first  essentially  the  same  as  the  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist 
and  Jesus,  (if  we  except  the  harsher  elements  of  John's  message 
which  seem  to  have  been  characteristic  of  him).  Part  of  Peter's 
speech  to  his  fellow  Jews  in  Solomon's  porch,  is  given  as  follows 
in  Acts,49  "Repent  ye  therefore,  and  turn  again,  that  your  sins 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  97 

mlay  be  blotted  out,  that  so  there  may  come  seasons  of  refreshing 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord ;  and  that  he  may  send  the  Christ 
who  hath  been  appointed  for  you,  even  Jesus :  whom  the  heavens 
must  receive  until  the  times  of  restoration  of  all  things,  whereof 
God  spake  by  the  mouth  of  his  holy  prophets  that  have  been 
from  of  old."  These  words  might  well  have  been  spoken  by  any 
earnest  Jew  of  that  or  of  preceding  times,  with  the  omission  of 
the  name  of  Jesus,  and  the  possible  reference  to  his  having  been 
received  up  into  heaven.  This  differentiation  was  the  starting 
point  of  the  Christian  message  of  salvation  as  distinct  from  that 
current  in  Judaism.  Prom  it  grew  up  other  allied  distinctions 
and  finally  a  complete  separation.  The  Christians  seem  to  have 
had  one  great  plea  which  they  made, — that  Jesus>  was  the 
Messiah.50  Continual  insistence  on  this  phase  of  their  belief 
tended  toward  emphasis  on  belief  as  a  test  of  fellowship  within 
the  group,  and  consequently  as  an  important  element  in  the 
saving  process.  This  looked  forward  to  later  Christological 
definition,  but  in  the  e'arly  years  was  only  a  mere  statement  oif 
trust  in  Jesus,  the  Messiah,  as  the  one  who,  by  virtue  of  his  God- 
given  office,  would  be  able  on  the  day  of  judgment  save  those  who 
acknowledged  him,  from  the  consequences  oif  their  sin  and  the 
punishment  of  God's  wrath.51  By  such  a  statement  of  trust, 
new  members  were,  after  proper  initiatory  rites,  admitted  among 
the  number  of  those  whose  allegiance  to  Jesus  was  a  guarantee 
of  final  salvation.  Variance  of  opinion  was  as  likely  as  among 
the  Jews.  Some  may  have  believed  in  a  final  judgment  of  both 
sinners  and  righteous  after  which  the  sinners  were  either  pun- 
ished eternally  or  annihilated.  Differences  of  opinion  about 
the  nature  and  universality  of  the  resurrection  may  well  have 
been  tolerated.  But  Christians  were  identified  by  one  thing, 
whatever  may  have  been  their  tendency  to  entertain  divergent 
beliefs;  and  that  one  thing  was  common  acknowledgment  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah  and  had  power  to  save.  His  power  was  yet 
to  be  manifested.  Paul's  idea  of  a  pre-existant  being  who  emptied 
himself  of  heavenly  glory  was  apparently  not  a  part  o;f  the  primi- 
tive message,  though  even  Paul  seemed  to  have  attached  little 
saving  significance  to  the  earthly  life  of  Jesus  except  that  through 
obedience  he  merited  promotion  to  the  office  o!f  the  exalted 
Messiah.52 

While  these  features  were  characteristic  of  primitive  Chris- 


98  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

tianity  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  they  faded  out  and  were  lost 
immediately  upon  the  spread  of  the  faith  in  non-Jewish  fields. 
Paul,  and  he  was  by  no  means  the  first  to  respond  to  Hellenistic 
stimuli,  retained  the  imagery  of  the  apocalyptic  kingdom,  and 
designated  Jesus  as  the  Christ  or  Messiah.  It  must  be  acknowl- 
edged, however,  that  * '  Christ ' '  was  used  more  and  more  as  a  title 
title  or  name,  and  less  as  a  term  descriptive  of  the  function 
played  by  thee  Messiah  in  the  redemptive  scheme. 

Besides  Paul  and  his  Hellenistic  associates,  there  were  those 
wlio  insisted  on  a  Jewish  type  of  salvation.  They  were  the 
Judaizers,  those  who  sought  to  preserve  the  earlier  and  more  typ- 
ically Jewish  faith.  Paul's  resistance  to  them  marks  the  first 
known  deviation  of  any  consequence  from  the  standard  faith  of 
the  early  period.  But  the  fact  of  their  existence  indicates  the 
certainty  of  a  Messianic  Christianity,  which  was  at  the  same  time 
essentially  Jewish,  prior  to  the  easily  recognized  Christianity  of 
the  Hellenistic  world.  This  primitive  type  was  also  perpetuated 
for  no  inconsiderable  length  of  time.  The  Ebionite  sects  of  the 
second  century  may  have  been  the  reappearance  of  the  earlier 
Messianic  faith.  But  the  destruction  of  records  of  this  faith,  in 
a  time  when  it  was  discredited  by  the  Hellenistic  adaptation,  and 
the  reworking  of  the  older  sources  to  make  them  express  the 
newer  conceptions,  tended  to  reduce  distinctly  primitive  Chris- 
tian religion  to  little  more  than  a  memory. 

There  are  certain  evidences  of  a  continuation  of  the  early  ideas 
in  Jewish  form.  Thus  the  book  of  Revelation,  however  much  it 
may  reflect  contact  with  Graeco-Roman  civilization,  conveys  a 
message  which  is  very  much  like  that  of  the  apocalyptic  of  late 
Jewish  religion.  The  one  characteristically  Christian  feature,  af- 
fecting the  soteriology  of  the  book,  is  the  identification  of  Jesus 
with  the  glorious  figure  which  was  soon  to  come  out  of  the  clouds 
in  a  demonstration  of  God's  supreme  power  and  authority.  The 
Epistle  of  James  which  does  not  deal  specifically  with  the  salva- 
tion interest,  is  reminiscent  of  the  Jewish  teaching  about  the 
keeping  of  the  law  and  the  doing  of  good  works,  and  finally  refers 
definitely  to  the  final  judgment  of  the  Lord.53  The  content  of  the 
epistle  would  not  have  been  inharmonious  in  the  earliest  period 
of  Christianity.  Indeed  it  was  not  in  conflict  with  the  Christian- 
ity of  its  time,  yet  it  does  not  express  those  elements  which  serve 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  99 

to  mark  the  development  of  the  faith  into  a  more  comprehensive 
message  of  salvation.54 

Just  as  the  ideas  about  salvation  which  arose  in  the  midst  of 
Jewish  national  experience  were  perpetuated  alongside  newer 
and  more  necessary  ideas  of  the  Graeco-Roman  world,  so  there 
was  continued  an  even  earlier  kind  of  salvation  interest.  As 
suggested  in  the  opening  chapter  of  this  study,  the  stimuli  which 
prompted  primitive  man  to  seek  salvation  determined  also  the 
form  which  was  given  to  his  theory.  Thus  when  man's  chief 
interest  lay  in  the  simple  but  important  tasks  connected  with 
the  maintenance  of  physical  life,  those  incidents  in  the  course  of 
nature  which  thwarted  his  existence  were  the  very  things,  the 
repetition  of  which  he  sought  to  prevent  through  some  action  of 
his  own  or  of  his  god  whose  favor  might  be  secured  in  some 
way.  His  conduct  in  the  case  was  determined  by  his  taking  one 
of  two  possible  courses.  If  he  conceived  of  power  being  ta  prop- 
erty of  the  god  and  mechanically  available,  he  sought  salvation 
by  getting  into  contact  with  that  power.  Or  if,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Jews  and  early  Christians,  God  was  a  person,  who  saved  his 
devotee  only  because  of  a  personal  relationship  existing  between 
the  two,  then  salvation  was  sought  through  conduct. 

By  the  time  of  the  Christian  era,  the  cruder  forms  of  social  life 
had  been  refined  through  development  and  diversification  oif  the 
methods  of  maintenance  and  perpetuation,  both  of  the  individual 
and  of  the  group.  Human  lif#  was  apparently,  though  not  actual- 
ly, farther  removed  from  the  basic  instincts  and  necessities  which 
underlie  (all  existence.  Hence  there  was  at  this  time  no  place  for 
a  pure  nature  religion  with  its  technique  for  securing  the  bless- 
ings of  a  bountiful  harvest  through  the  aversion  of  drought,  flood, 
and  plagues.  God  was  the  giver  of  all  perfect  gifts,  but  he  was 
not  nature  personified. 

Salvation  was  not  primarily  from  the  physical  manifestations 
of  evil  power  as  seen  in  flood  and  famine,  except  in  the  simpler 
forms  oif  religious  society.  There  demons  were  popularly  the 
cause  of  all  evil,  disaster,  and  suffering.55  This  was  a  common 
feature  in  all  religions  of  this  time,  and  was  not  consistently 
opposed  by  the  most  intelligent  religious  leaders,  but  was  accept- 
ed without  question  by  practically  all.  This  unchallenged  theory 
of  demonology  went  along  with  a  widespread  practice  of  healing 
by  means  of  exorcism  or  the  exercise  of  magical  power  by  virtue 


100  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

of  the  authority  residing  in  a  person  or  invoked  in  his  name. 

In  the  New  Testament  there  is  no  indication  that  the  interest 
in  primitive  racial  salvation  was  ever  placed  in  the  forefront. 
There  were  numerous  occasions  when  suggestions  and  remin- 
iscences were  employed  to  enrich  the  salvation  which  was  sought. 
The  healing  of  sickness  by  exorcism  or  other  means  was  no  doubt 
a  more  or  less  common  practice.  The  increasing  interest  in  Jesus7 
earthly  life  and  the  demonstration  of  his  Miessiahship  from  the 
beginning,  prompted  the  embellishment  of  the  story  of  his  career 
by  references  to  healings  and  exorcisms  without  number.  Acts56 
relates  the  story  of  Paul 's  miraculous  power  and  contrasts  it  with 
the  works  of  strolling  Jewish  exorcists  some  of  whose  magical 
books  were  finally  yielded  up  to  destruction,  not  because  the 
practice  was  objectionable  in  itself,  but  because  the  name  and 
power  of  Jesus  should  only  be  used  by  chosen  believers  in  him. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  mention  specifically  the  healings,  exorcisms, 
and  resurrections  attributed  to  Jesus,  and  less  frequently  to  the 
apostles  of  the  new  faith.  These  practices  and  beliefs  were  the 
product  of  the  common  experiences  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  They 
were  joined  to  more  characteristic  beliefs  of  the  time  to  form 
cumulative  evidence  of  the  certainty  of  salvation  from  God.  Put- 
ting taside  the  question  as  to  whether  or  not  Jesus  prompted  confi- 
dence in  God's  willingness  to  save  by  the  performance  of  wonder- 
ful deeds,  it  is  easy  enough  to  see  that  in  proportion  as  his  ffol- 
lowers  interpreted  his  earthly  life  as  Messianically  significant, 
they  would  be  inclined  to  attribute  to  him  many  acts  of  power 
in  order  to  demonstrate  that  he  had  while  on  earth  been  divinely 
accredited  tas  the  agent  of  salvation.  It  is  not  possible  to  indicate 
the  progress  of  this  interpretation,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that,  if  in  the  first  years  after  Jesus '  death,  his  followers  thought 
of  him  as  yet  to  manifest  his  Messianic  power,  there  would  be 
little  reason  for  picturing  his  earthly  experience  so  prominently 
in  terms  of  miracles  of  healing,  etc.  While  healing  was  a  very 
commonplace  feature  of  the  time,  and  should  be  recognized  as 
one  of  the  phases  of  the  salvation  interest,  its  attachment  to  Jesus 
as  Messiah  and  to  the  whole  scheme  of  redemption,  (officially 
recognized  in  both  Judaism  and  Christianity),  remains  somewhat 
indefinite.57 

If  the  conclusions  regarding  the  kind  of  salvation  sought  by 
primitive  Christianity,  which  have  been  brought  forth,  possess 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMEX 

any  merit  of  exactness  or  suggestiveness,  a  characterization  of  it 
may  now  be  offered.  In  as  much  as  the  earliest  Christians  were 
also  Jews  entertaining  beliefs  not  radically  different  from  ortho- 
dox Judaism  aside  from  the  identification  of  Jesus  with  the  Heav- 
enly Messiah  and  Savior,  their  conceptions  of  the  process  by 
which  salvation  would  be  brought  about  was  essentially  that  of 
their  closest  kin  among  the  Jews.  Since  Jesus  had  died  without 
setting  up  an  earthly  kingdom,  it  was  of  course  impossible  for  his 
followers  to  'advocate  what  has  been  designated  the  nationalistic 
type  of  salvation.  There  remained  for  them  but  one  alternative, 
— apocalyptic  salvation. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  Jewish  quests  may  also  be  said 
about  that  quest  in  which  these  Christians  were  engaged.  It  was 
one  in  which  the  outcome  was  determined  by  the  personal  rela- 
tions sustained  by  the  members  of  the  society  to  their  God  and 
his  special  representative,  the  Messiah,  but  particularly  to  God. 
There  was  present  no  theory  of  nature  or  essence  such  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  characteristic  Graeco-Roman  religions.  One  could  not 
appropriate  God-stuff  as  in  the  mysteries,  nor  was  his  salvation 
guaranteed  by  his  possession  by  nature  of  an  irreducible  minimum 
of  divinity  in  his  soul,  the  cultivation  of  which  would  lift  one 
above  the  petty  things  of  this  world  and  finally  literally  unite  him 
with  God.  The  Jews  were  not  sacramentalists,  at  least  not  the 
typical  Jews  of  Palestine ;  neither  were  the  primitive  Christians. 
Their  ideas  of  salvation  had  much  closer  affinties  to  the  motive 
of  emperor  worship  and  some  phases  of  Mithraism  in  which  the 
cult  member  is  represented  as  being  benefited  by  the  personal  in- 
terest of  the  deity.  This  kind  of  salvation  possesses  a  sort  of  in- 
herent "trinity", — a  person  to  be  saved,  an  objective  salvation, 
and  a  person  through  whom  this  end  may  be  accomplished.  The 
other  type  of  salvation  process  involves  a  blending  of  the  objec- 
tive salvation  and  the  saving  agency  in  an  impersonal  power  in 
which  the  seeker  after  salvation  may  find  his  rest  by  a  subjective 
identification. 

Christianity  in  its  earliest  stage,  whether  interpreted  from  its 
relation  to  contemporary  Judaism,  or  from  the  later  literary  evi- 
dence which  continued  the  primitive  beliefs,  was  a  quest  for 
salvation  by  means  of  personal  relations  to  God.  "Ye  cannot 
serve  God  and  mammon" ;58  "If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to 
give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your 


,j<$.  •'.*.':•••  '    QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

Father  who  is  in  Heaven  give  good  things  to  them  that  ask 
him''  ;69  "If  any  man  would  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself, 
and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me. '  '60  These  are  characteristic 
statements  in  the  Christian  message.  As  the  Christ  of  Christian- 
ity was  more  prominent,  more  personalized  than  the  Messiah  of 
Judaism,  the  Christian  believer  stood  in  a  very  close  relationship 
to  his  Savior,  who  had  done  so  much  to  merit  the  allegiance  of 
his  follower.  Although  the  Christian  was  really  unable  to  effect 
his  own  salvation,  for  only  God  could  do  that,  he  might  by  a  life 
of  devoted  service  and  proper  conduct,  gain  assurance  that  he 
was  already  saved  by  anticipation.  According  to  the  strict  inter- 
pretation of  the  Messianic  scheme,  no  definite  guarantee  of  sal- 
vation could  be  given  short  of  the  final  judgment,  though  legalism 
assumed  to  give  a  certain  degree  of  finality.  The  Christian  iden- 
tification of  the  risen  Jesus  with  the  Messiah  furnished  the  same 
kind  o!f  assurance  that  Judaism  offered,  but  the  growing  ten- 
dency to  identify  the  earthly  Jesus  with  the  Messiah  gave  a 
much  more  definite  assurance.  His  promises,  his  teaching,  as 
well  as  his  deeds,  gave  every  reason  for  believing  that  the  'age 
would  soon  be  consummated  and  all  who  would  cleave  to  the 
Master,  would  enjoy  the  blessings  of  the  kingdom  of  the  saved. 

In  such  a  quest  the  primitive  Christians  engaged,  starting  from 
an  essentially  Jewish  conception  of  salvation,  and  gradually  ac- 
quiring elements  by  which  they  as  a  group  were  to  be  differen- 
tiated from  all  others.  Their  growing  contact  with  the  Hellenistic 
world  and  the  increasing  cleavage  between  Christians  and  Jews, 
tended  to  modify  the  formal  side  of  their  religion  until  they 
found  themselves  participating  in  &  quest  for  salvation  in  many 
particluars  quite  different  from  the  first  in  which  they  took  part. 
The  earlier  quest  was  conditioned  by  Jewish  life  with  its  religious 
formalism  and  c'asuistry,  and  high  ethical  zeal,  and  by  Roman 
provincialism  and  group  particularism.  The  later  quest  was 
worked  out  in  the  midst  of  universalism  syncretism,  philosophy, 
and  mysticism,  such  as  were  not  prevalent  in  the  traditional 
Judaism  of  Palestine. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  103 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  JEWISH  CHRISTIAN  QUEST  IN  A  HELLENISTIC 

WORLD. 

The  Christian  movement  did  not  long  continue  in  a  tolerant 
relationship  with  Judaism.  Much  bitter  feeling  (arose  between 
the  two  groups  and  gradually  widened  the  breach  between  them 
until  they  are  later  found  in  open  and  merciless  opposition.1  In 
the  first  stage  o'f  the  separation  which  can  be  distinguished,  the 
spirit  of  opposition  seems  to  have  been  expressed  by  the  Jews 
rather  than  by  the  Christians.  This  state  of  'affairs  is  everywhere 
apparent  in  the  New  Testament  and  must  have  originally  been 
occasioned  largely  by  the  prominence  given  to  Jesus  as  Messiah. 
The  Jews  did  not  necessarily  hold  to  beliefs  which  were  not 
acceptable  to  Christians.  Christians  could  easily  find  congenial 
minds  among  the  Jews  as  far  as  Jewish  religious  thought  was 
concerned,  particularly  among  the  Pharisees.  But  the  Jews  could 
not  accept  the  distinguishing  feature  of  the  Christians,  the  Mes- 
siahship  of  Jesus.  The  Messianic  kingdom  was  common  property, 
but  in  proportion  as  the  person  of  the  Messiah  was  brought  into 
the  foreground  the  breach  between  the  two  parties  was  widened 
and  made  permanent.  This  eventuated  in  the  departure  of  the 
Christian  mission  from  the  Jewish  field  and  its  entrance  into  the 
Gentile.  Hence  the  significant  term,  the  Gentile  Mission,  by 
which  the  early  evangelistic  enthusiasm  is  designated. 

Christianity,  as  it  moved  out  into  its  new  field  of  activity,  did 
so,  not  with  a  series  of  questions  which  it  propounded  to  its  hear- 
ers, but  with  an  answer  to  the  question  so  frequently  asked: 
''What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  The  Christians  believed  that 
they  had  reached  the  end  of  their  quest  when  they  made  the  dis- 
covery that  Jesus  was  the  Miessiah.  And  when  that  was  done, 
they  were  content  to  address  their  Jewish  associates  in  order  to 
convince  them  of  the  same  saving  fact.  If  there  had  been  no  oc- 
casion to  go  farther  into  the  world,  their  quest  would  indeed  have 
been  ended,  and  there  would  have  been  nothing  left  to  occupy 
their  attention  except  propaganda.  They  would  have  been 
searching  for  nothing  except  new  recruits  for  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  among  a  people  who  understood  their  message  and  only 
asked  for  assurance  that  they  might  be  saved  in  the  faith  of 
their  fathers. 


104  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

But  there  were  people  in  the  audiences  of  the  Christian  mis- 
sionaries who  had  many  questions  in  their  minds,  and  in  addition 
they  had  convictions  which  grew  -out  of  their  own  religious  experi- 
ences for  which  Judaism  and  Christianity  had  no  adequate  ex- 
planations. To  those  who  had  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  meaning 
of  personal  allegiance  to  a  ruler,  the  conventional  answer  of 
Jewish  Christianity  to  questions  about  salvation  was  clear :  Be- 
come a  member  of  the  group  which  is  doing  now  the  will  of  God 
land  believe  that  when  his  good  time  comes,  he  will  bring  you  to 
himself  in  safety,  with  a  miraculous  manifestation  of  his  power. 
But  to  those  who  wished  to  escape  from  the  crude  flesh  and  its 
limitations  and  be  transformed  by  a  miraculous  infusion  of  deity, 
this  ready  made  answer  gave  no  satisfaction.  Thus  by  raising 
questions  which  had  hitherto  been  unasked  in  Christian  circles, 
the  new  members  compelled  the  movement  to  retain  its  character 
as  a  quest. 

There  were  other  factors  which  tended  to  lead  Christianity  into 
a  broader  field  of  activity,  factors  which  indeed  marked  the  com- 
patibility of  Judaism  and  Christianity  rather  than  the  opposite. 
There  was  the  nature  and  character  of  Judaism  with  which  the 
new  faith  was  so  closely  associated  and  from  which  it  gained  so 
much  of  its  strength.  Judaism  furnished  the  radiating  lines 
along  which  Christianity  was  spread  as  it  was  transmitted 
through  the  medium  of  the  synagogue  meetings.  Judaislm  was 
by  no  means  confined  to  Palestine.  There  were  Jews  in  Egypt, 
Syria,  Mesopotamia,  Babylonia,  Media,  Asia  Minor,  and  Rome. 
In  all  there  were  between  four  and  five  millions  of  Jews,  less  than 
one  million  of  whom  lived  in  Palestine.2  The  great  numbers  and 
wide  distribution  of  Jews  can  hardly  be  explained  on  the  basis 
of  natural  increase  of  population.  There  must  have  been  an  in- 
sistent propaganda  among  certain  classes  who  were  by  race  and 
social  status  similar  to  the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion,  or  who  were 
attracted  by  the  high  ethics  and  rigid  monotheism  which  the 
Scriptures  set  forth.  It  has  been  customary  to  think  of  the  Jews 
as  very  particularistic,  so  much  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  an 
extensive  missionary  enterprise  to  be  carried  out.  This  no  doubt, 
was  true  of  the  narrower  Palestinian  faith,  but  there  were  broad- 
er and  more  universal  tendencies  at  work  in  Judaism  as  a  whole, 
looking  to  a  less  nationalistic  and  more  cosmopolitan  religion.3 
This  propaganda  was  not  accompanied,  however,  by  a  willingness 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  105 

to  syncretise  with  the  various  faiths  which  lay  in  its  on-going 
path.  There  was  a  continual  insistence  on  ethical  conduct  of  the 
individual  'and  Jehovah  as  the  only  God,  whose  laws  must  be 
obeyed,  in  view  of  the  coming  judgment.  It  was  this  which  gave 
the  Jewish  people  solidarity  and  unified  interests.  Even  the  dis- 
continuance of  sacrificial  observances  in  the  Dispersion  did  not 
destroy  the  sanctity  of  the  law  and  the  worship  of  God.  This  was 
merely  an  incident  in  the  modification  of  the  less  essential  features 
oif  the  faith,  a  modification  flanked  by  the  two  extremes  of  com- 
promising tolerance  and  fanatical  exclusiveness.4 

In  this  process  of  modification,  the  worship  of  the  synagogue 
played  a  prominent  part.  The  Jews  had  certain  privileges  of 
citizenship  which  seemed  more  or  less  attractive  to  less  favored 
ones,  as  for  instance,  in  Alexandria.5  But  more  significant  was 
the  sympathetic  adherence  of  the  non-Jew  to  the  worship  of  the 
synagogue,  where  the  asserted  antiquity  of  the  sacred  Scriptures 
established  the  rightfulness  of  the  faith.  The  result  was  that 
a  great  number  of  "God-fearers"6  attended  the  services  of  the 
Sabbath  >and  thereby  gave  the  religion  a  certain  degree  of  re- 
spectability in  Graeco-Roman  eyes.  Josephus  informs  us  that  at 
Antioch  "the  Jews  continued  to  attract  a  large  number  of  the 
Greeks  to  their  services,  making  them  in  a  sense  part  of  them- 
selves."7 What  was  true  at  Antioch  was  equally  true  in  other 
places.  Those  who  wished  a  closer  affiliation  with  Judaism  might 
secure  it  by  becoming  proselytes  and  assuming  the  same  respon- 
sibilty  to  the  law  that  a  born  Jew  did.  But  this  stage  of  member- 
ship was  m'ade  somewhat  unpopular  by  the  necessity  of  submit- 
ting to  certain  initiatory  rites  which  were  more  or  less  repulsive 
to  the  Gentile,  and  by  the  fact  that  limited  privileges  were  grant- 
ed to  the  newcomers. 

One  can  easily  imagine  the  effect  this  fact  may  well  have  had 
in  promoting  the  Gentile  Mission  of  Christianity  in  connection 
with  other  influences  less  divisive  in  tendency.  Christianity  and 
Judaism  may  have  worked  side  by  side  appealing  to  the  same 
people  by  much  the  same  argument.  After  the  development  of 
friction  between  Jews  and  Christians  in  Palestine,  there  may  have 
continued  a  fairly  harmonious  relationship  in  the  Dispersion.  In 
any  event,  whenever  the  God-fearer  had  an  opportunity  to  listen 
to  the  messengers  of  the  similar  faiths,  Christianity  land  Judaism, 
he  would  be  attracted  to  the  one  which  required  of  him  the  least 


106  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

in  the  way  of  repelling  rites  and  ceremonies  and  offered  at  the  same 
time  the  fullest  privileges  of  membership.  Furthermore,  the 
Christian  mission,  being  somewhat  elastic  because  of  its  newness, 
and  centering  its  emphasis  on  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  instead  of  on 
the  law.  and  ceremony,  could  make  concessions  that  the  older 
faith  could  not  yield.  Thus  the  pagan  sympathizer  and  admirer 
of  the  Jehovah  religion  probably  served  as  one  of  the  entering 
wedges  between  Judaism  and  Christianity,  by  virtue  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  desired  as  a  member  and  supporter  of  each  religion. 
As  a  prize  of  contest,  he  may  have  been  the  passive  agent  of  many 
modifications  of  the  primitive  message  of  Christian  faith.  The 
God-fearer  was  a  seeker  after  salvation,  and  Christianity  no  less 
than  Judaism,  was  seeking  to  give  him  assurance  of  salvation. 
The  apostles  of  the  Gentile  Mission  did  not  condescend  to  let  the 
pagan  enquirer  dictate  the  terms  of  the  exchange,  but  the  history 
of  the  early  years  shows  that  many  who  were  not  Jews  believed,8 
and  the  success  of  the  preaching  would  hardly  permit  the  suppo- 
sition that  all  concessions  were  made  by  those  em/braced  Chris- 
tianity. Only  a  conquest  of  the  sword  can  maintain  its  message 
unchanged,  and  Christianity  was  not  that.  Its  dealings  with  the 
Gentiles  were  on  a  basis  acceptable  to  both. 

On  the  whole  Judaism  furnished  Christianity  with  a  great  deal 
of  content  in  its  early  years  and  even  during  the  period  of  its 
gradual  separation.  The  preceding  chapter  indicates  in  part  the 
message  which  Judaism  gave  to  primitive  Christianity.  Its  syn- 
cretistic  tendency  and  its  propaganda  also  contributed  to  the  en- 
dowment of  the  new  faith  with  a  certain  degree  of  adaptability 
and  vitality,  while  on  the  side  of  more  external  features  it  was  no 
less  the  cause  of  Christianity's  success,  since  it  had  acquainted 
the  Gentile  world  with  the  religious  forms  and  ideas  with  which 
the  Christian  mission  operated.9 

There  were,  however  other  influences  which  offered  Christian- 
ity, as  a  new  phase  of  religion,  an  opportunity  to  undertake  its 
own  work  separately  from  that  of  Judaism.  These  were  the  char- 
acteristically Hellenistic  features  of  the  Gentile  civilization  work- 
ing in  conjunction  with  the  Koman  political  policy.  Only  by  an  al- 
most absolute  withdrawal  from  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the 
world  would  Christianity  have  been  able  to  keep  herself  free  from 
these  influences,  and  when  once  she  came  into  contact  with  them, 
they  offered  remarkable  inducements  to  undertake  a  task  less  cir- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  107 

cumscribed  by  narrowness  titan  that  which  Judaism  adhered  to, 
even  when  least  particularistic.  There  may  be  mentioned  in  this 
connection  1)  the  cultural  tendencies  of  the  age  as  seen  in  the  pro- 
motion of  Hellenistic  thought  among  >all  peoples  for  the  purpose 
of  cementing-  them  together;  2)  the  break-down  of  social  distinc- 
tions hitherto  accepted  without  comment  and  the  opportunity  of 
self -elevation  made  comparatively  easy  for  all;  3)  the  religious 
situation  as  seen  in  a  tolerant  attitude  toward  all  cults,  and  the 
recognition  of  religious  interests  previously  considered  trivial  and 
inconsequential,  or  ever  despicable,  jby  the  typical  influential  citi- 
zen, and  4)  the  changing  political  method,  which  now  sought  to 
establish  a  world  empire  on  the  basis  of  a  monarchy  which  guar- 
anteed material  prosperity  and  relative  freedom  in  local  organi- 
zations in  exchange  for  absolute  allegiance  to  the  one  ruler.  This 
latter  characteristic  of  the  first  Christian  century,  since  it  fostered 
the  idea  of  centralized  authority,  had  a  great  deal  to  do,  on  its 
non-political  side,  with  the  propagation  of  the  monotheistic  ideal, 
both  within  and  without  Christianity.10  On  the  concrete  side, 
these  phases  of  Graeco-Roman  life  were  really  potent  forces  in 
the  shaping  of  all  movements  which  operated  within  the  range  o!f 
their  influence.  In  large  measure  they  were  different  from  the 
characteristic  qualities  of  the  Jewish  and  primitive  Christian  life, 
and  in  some  instances  entirely  opposite.  Quite  logically,  there- 
fore, as  soon  as  the  Chrstian  movement  was  brought  into  touch 
with  the  Gentile  world,  through  the  leading  of  Judaism  itself  or 
because  of  its  own  inherent  genius,  it  met  forces  which  tended  to 
advance  it  still  farther  in  the  direction  of  an  independent  mission, 
in  which  Jewish  influences  had  diminishing  prominence. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  was  a  potential  cleavage 
between  the  Christians  and  the  Jews  in  the  identification  of  Jesus 
with  the  coming  Messiah.  Emphasis  was  thereby  shifted  from  the 
importance  of  the  law  and  tradition,  and  in  proportion  as  the  Mes- 
siahship  of  Jesus  was  insisted  upon,  the  adherents  of  the  law  ac- 
cused the  Christians  of  infidelity  to  the  most  sacred  things  of 
G-od.  But  this  whole  dispute  was  within  the  range  of  Jewish 
thought  and  experience.  Therefore  it  cannot  be  said  that  the 
contact  with  the  Gentile  world  was  the  primary  cause  of  the 
divergence  of  the  Christian  mission  from  its  Jewish  ancestry. 
Antecedent  to  that  was  the  difference  of  belief  on  a  matter  which 
was  purely  Jewish.  When  once  the  question  was  raised  and  dis- 


108  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

agreement  registered,  further  variation  was  stimulated  by  con- 
tact with  the  non-Jewish  world,  from  which  reinforcements  were 
drawn  in  the  form  of  greater  numerical  .adherents  and  more 
effective  thought-processes. 

The  course  which  Christianity  followed  in  making  its  way 
from  its  Jewish  environment  out  into  the  Gentile  world  cannot 
be  followed  in  detail.  The  author  of  the  book  of  Acts  is  very 
conscious  of  the  development  of  the  Gentile  mission  and  the 
final  repudiation  of  Judaism.11  His  selection  and  use  of  materials 
in  the  first  half  of  the  book  give  ample  testimony  to  this  point. 
His  zeal  in  presenting  this  cleavage  between  Christianity  and 
Judaism  may  well  have  obscured  some  of  the  actual  stages  by 
which  it  took  place,  though  it  is  still  clear  that  the  author  recog- 
nized that  the  gospel  was  first  preached  to  the  Jews  and  only 
offered  to  the  Gentiles  because  of  the  refusal  of  Jews  to  listen 
to  the  good  tidings.12 

The  first  center  of  Christian  activity  was  Jerusalem.  The 
early  gospel  tradition  referred  to  the  appearances  of  the  risen 
Jesus  in  Galilee,13  but  under  the  influence  of  a  rival  Jerusalem  tra- 
dition, Luke's  rendering  of  the  reference  to  Galilee  was  altered 
ingeniously  to  permit  the  introduction  of  another  account  of 
Jesus'  appearance.14  The  Lucan  interest  in  the  Jerusalem  tra- 
dition is  continued  in  the  opening  verses  of  Acts.15  A  church  was 
there  established  which  apparently  was  the  center  from  which 
other  churches  were  started  in  the  outlying  districts  of  Judaea,16 
and  also  in  Galilee  and  Samaria,17  at  Damascus,18  and  subsequent- 
ly to  the  West  on  the  sea-coast.19  While  these  churches  were  ap- 
parently started  by  members  of  the  Jerusalem  church  who  had 
been  forced  to  leave  because  of  persecution,20  it  is  not  clear  that 
any  rigid  oversight  was  maintained  by  the  mother  church.  In  all 
probability  the  preaching  was  mostly  confined  to  Jewish  audi- 
ences. At  an  early  time  the  Grecian  Jews  became  quite  promi- 
nent and  secured  a  change  in  administration  for  the  advantage  of 
their  own  members.21  Also  Philip's  successful  preaching  to  the 
Ethiopian  eunuch22  would  indicate  an  early  attention  to  pros- 
pective proselytes.  No  doubt  the  conditions  under  which  non- 
Jews  were  admitted  to  the  group  were  at  first  similar  to  those 
demanded  by  the  Jews  themselves,  and  no  severe  hostility  was 
universally  expressed  toward  the  Christians.  But  persecutions 
did  come  as  may  be  seen  from  both  Acts  and  Paul.23  One  is  in- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  100 

clined  to  believe  that  the  rupture  between  Christians  and  Jews 
was  made  likely  by  the  admission  of  a  considerable  number  of 
Hellenistic  Jews  as  well  as  by  the  message  which  was  preached.24 

To  those  who  listened  attentively  to  the  Christians  because 
they  were  eager  to  hear  a  satisfying  message  of  salvation,  the 
preaching  was  no  doubt  very  like  that  of  the  earliest  preaching 
to  the  Jews:  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand",25 
supplemented  by  the  call  to  repentance  ias  preparation 
for  its  coming,26  and  by  the  assertion  that  Jesus  was  the 
Messiah  who  was  soon  to  come  and  set  up  the  kingdom.27  Appar- 
ently the  only  crucial  question  which  could  have  iarisen  at  this 
time  was  concerned  with  the  problem  of  admitting  non-Jews  into 
the  community.  Stephen,  a  Hellenistic  Jew  and  Christian, 
aroused  the  Jews  by  preaching  Jesus,  the  Messiah,  as  the  one  who 
would  set  aside  the  law  and  the  temple.28  Philip,  another  of  the 
Hellenists,  did  not  hesitate  to  welcome  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
Christians  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,29  and  probably  iniany  others  of 
the  "God-fearers".  The  baptism  of  the  Gentile  Cornelius  by  Peter 
has  the  same  significance  for  this  early  movement.  This  practice 
of  admitting  to  full  fellowship  those  who  had  not  met  the  prelim- 
inary conditions  of  the  law  contained  within  it  the  latent  force  of 
a  (further  development  in  the  direction  of  'an  independent  move- 
ment, of  a  separate  quest  for  salvation.30 

The  second  center  of  the  Christian  mission  was  at  Antioch,31 
where  the  activities  of  the  scattered  disciples  were  centered. 
Prominent  in  the  work  of  the  Antioch  church  were  Hellenistic 
leaders  as  a  partial  list  indicates,32  B'arnabas,  Simeon  Niger, 
Lucius  of  Cyrene,  Manaen,  and  Saul.  Their  preaching  was  at 
least  partly  to  Greeks,33  in  continuation  of  the  practice  suggested 
by  the  story  of  Philip  and  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  and  of  Peter  and 
Cornelius.  Later  it  was  from  Antioch  that  an  authorized  mission 
was  made  to  the  Gentiles.34  The  Christian  movement  had  become 
so  widely  differentiated  from  Judaism  that  it  received  a  distin- 
guishing title.35  The  points  of  actual  difference  increased  about 
this  time  and  caused  a  more  crucial  controversy  with  the  original 
movement  than  had  previously  existed.  The  (account  of  the  dif- 
ferences given  in  Acts  15  bear  the  stamp  of  being  confused  and 
somewhat  lacking  in  decisiveness.  Paul's  statement,36  though 
lacking  in  detail,  is  more  illuminating.  The  first  problem,  which 
arose  early  in  the  career  of  the  Christians,  was,  as  suggested 


110  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

above,  one  which  dealt  with  the  admission  of  non-Jews  without 
the  necessity  of  observing  Mosaic  requirements.  It  was  settled 
in  favor  of  the  liberal  side.37  Later  another  discussion  arose,  this 
time  at  Antioch,  and  dealing  not  with  the  admission  of  members 
but  with  relations  within  the  group  between  the  Jewish  Christians 
and  the  Grecian  Christians,  whose  entrance  into  the  community 
had  been  conditioned  differently  'according  to  the  agreement 
made.  This  problem  also  was  settled  in  favor  of  the  liberals.38 

By  this  time  certainly,  Christian  preaching  was  yielding  some 
of  its  positions,  formerly  so  strenuously  held.  It  did  so,  not  be- 
cause of  an  independent  judgment  based  on  logical  analysis,  but 
because  of  the  success  of  the  venture  among  the  Gentiles.  The 
message  of  salvation  mjust  have  lacked  much  of  the  formalism 
which  it  had  when  it  left  Jerusalem,  and  advocated  more  strenu- 
ously faith  in  Jesus  as  superior  to  any  requirements  of 
the  law.39  As  a  quest  for  salvation  in  which  Jews  and  Gentiles 
alike  might  take  part  it  threatened  the  very  existence  of  the 
Jewish  phase  of  the  work,  because  of  the  departure  into  Gentile 
lands  land  the  recognition  of  the  inapplicability  of  the  law  to  their 
needs.  By  the  same  token,  there  would  be.  every  reason  to  postu- 
late as  complementary  to  the  negative  attitude  toward  the  law, 
a  positive  evaluation  of  some  elements  within  Gentile  religious 
experience. 

The  spread  of  the  Gentile  mission  from  this  point  was  domi- 
nated for  a  considerable  period  by  the  work  and  personality  of 
Paul.  His  missionary  tours  led  him  farther  and  'farther  from 
Jerusalem  and  Antioch,  though  he  always  had  a  sentimental  at- 
tachment to  these  places.  Even  when  he  wished  to  go  to  Rome 
to  complete  the  world-wide  mission,  he  was  constrained  to  turn 
aside  rather  reluctantly  that  he  might  carry  back  in  person  the 
"•collection  for  the  saints"  and  thus  pledge  anew  his  loyalty  to 
the  Jerusalem  church.49  A  sense  of  responsibility  did  not  im- 
press itself  upon  his  mind  -at  once,  even  though  he  afterward  in- 
terpreted his  commission  as  dating  from  his  conversion,41  as  also 
the  author  of  Acts  did.42  Paul's  first  activities  were  in  Arabia 
and  about  Damascus.43  Gradually  his  sense  of  a  mission  increased 
until  he  left  the  field  of  the  Jews  and  entered  upon  his  wider 
work.  His  first  tour  was  not  the  fruit  of  a  fully  developed  con- 
sciousness of  the  Gentile  mission.  His  second  tour  seems  to  have 
been  the  result  of  a  greater  missionary  'aim,  as  was  his  third  jour- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  111 

ney  also.  Ephesus,44  and  other  cities  of  that  part  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean world  assumed  primary  importance  in  the  Christian  mis- 
sion to  the  Gentiles,  and  remained  prominent  for  many  years. 
The  churches  in  this  section  received  many  letters  from  Paul 
during  his  life  time,  and  played  no  inconsiderable  part  in  the 
collection  and  standardization  of  Christian  literature  other  than 
Paul's. 

Paul's  ambition  to  visit  the  capital  city  of  the  world  was  the 
beginning  of  the  final  stage  of  the  Gentile  mission  which  made  its 
chief  aim  that  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  all  the  world  then 
known.  The  belief  that  the  coming  of  Jesus  and  the  kingdom 
would  thus  be  hastened  was  the  motive  of  this  plan  of  universal 
evangelization.  Others  than  Paul  had  this  conviction.45  As  the 
task  of  carrying  the  gospel  to  the  whole  world  was  carried  on  and 
as  the  keenness  of  the  apocalyptic  message  was  lost  in  the  midst 
of  other  world  views,  the  universal  character  of  the  Christian 
preaching  and  the  necessity  of  proclaiming  it,  were  established 
on  other  grounds  than  the  sudden  coming  of  the  kingdom. 

The  labors  of  the  Apostle  Paul  do  not  mark  either  the  begin- 
ning* or  the  end  or  the  process  of  transference  by  which  Christian- 
ity was  inducted  from  its  exclusively  Jewish  environment  into 
the  Gentile  world.  He  had  not  participated  in  the  earliest  years 
of  the  movement,  and  he  was  not  for  a  number  of  years  the  most 
prominent  exponent  of  Christianity.  Little  is  known  of  the 
activities  of  the  individual  apostles,  though  the  names  of  Peter, 
James,  and  John,  occur  somewhat  frequently  in  the  annals  of  the 
early  years.  Tradition  kept  alive  for  some  time  the  names  of 
others.  But  of  the  rather  large  number  of  those  who  assisted  in 
the  dissemination  of  Christian  beliefs,  we  have  no  informing 
records.  Paul  calme  in  on  -the  crest  of  the  wave,  as  far  as  the 
Gentile  mission  is  concerned,  and  left  a  body  of  letters  which 
gives  us  a  better  understanding  of  the  work  that  he  undertook 
than  in  the  case  of  any  other  evangelist  of  his  time.  The  presence 
of  his  writings  has  caused  'some  to  overestimate  the  reconstruction 
of  belief  which  he  is  supposed  to  have  effected.  Without  in  the 
least  depreciating  Paul's  significance  in  the  development  of  early 
Christianity  in  the  Graeco-Eoman  world,  it  may  be  said  that  he 
registered  the  tendencies  of  the  time  and  of  the  task,  rather  than 
that  he  was  responsible  for  a  salvaging  and  reconstruction  of 
the  gospel. 


112  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

It  is  indeed  unfortunate  for  our  fuller  understanding  of 
the  period  that  more  and  better  records  of  the  transition  stage 
between  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christianity  are  not  available  from 
which  might  be  reconstructed  the  message  of  salvation  by  which 
the  quest  was  furthered  among  those  who  turned  sympathetically 
to  the  Gospel.  However  positive  the  first  preachers  may  have 
been  as  they  turned  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch  and  later  to  Asia 
Minor  and  Italy,  and  however  unchanged  their  gospel  miay  have 
been,  those  who  were  drawn  to  them  had  sought  elsewhere  before 
they  had  heard  of  Jesus,  and  they  had  found  partial  salvation 
in  different  places.  Whether  they  would  or  not,  they  colored 
the  faith  which  they  last  accepted  with  the  experiences  of  their 
previous  life.  On  the  formal  side  of  the  shift  of  Christianity 
from  Palestine  to  the  Gentile  world  there  is  no  disputing  the 
influx  of  pagans  into  the  memlbership  of  the  church.  The  problem 
which  arises  next  is  whether  or  not  the  unquestioned  fact  of  con- 
tact with  a  new  environment  modified  in  any  particular  the  quest 
for  salvation  which  was  taken  up  by  those  who  became  identified 
with  the  new  faith  either  as  seekers  after  personal  salvation  or 
as  propagandists  for  the  good  of  others.  The  only  possible  sources 
for  new  elements  are,  on  the  one  hand,  the  Jewish-Christian  life 
of  the  primitive  Christian  quest  with  its  combination  of  Jewish 
beliefs  and  Christian  creations,  and  on  the  other,  the  new  world 
in  which  the  movement  was  operating.46 

The  social  situations  with  which  the  church  was  conditioned, 
were  now  no  longer  those  of  Palestine,  but  those  of  a  different 
civilization.  Salvation  was  not  sought  in  the  midst  of  Jewish 
nationalism,  though  the  structure  of  the  theory  of  salvation  still 
contained  many  of  the  old-time  elements.  If  there  were  new 
elements,  in  what  way  were  they  blended  with  the  old  heritage 
and  in  what  proportion  were  they  present? 

The  Jewish  soteriology  was  as  prominent  in  Paul  as  in  any 
other  evangelist  in  the  progressive  wing  of  the  Christian  church. 
The  ultra  Jewish  faction  did  not  last  long,  unless  it  be  that  it 
continued  for  'a  time  in  Palestine,  and  then  was  pushed  eastward 
to  Pella  at  the  time  of  the  war  of  A.D.  66-70,47  from  which  region  it 
influenced  subsequent  Christianity  through  the  Ebionite  heresies 
of  the  second  century.  But  even  so,  this  conservative  group 
did  not  have  any  determinative  influence  upon  the  history  o!f  the 
church  and  its  final  success  in  the  Roman  Empire. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  113 

In  the  experimental  work  in  which  Christianity  engaged, 
there  could  hardly  have  been  uniformity.  In  fact  the  history 
of  the  early  church  bears  ample  testimony  to  variation  and  fre- 
quent disagreement.  There  were  no  means  by  which  harmony 
could  be  effected  except  such  voluntary  agreements  as  might  be 
set  up  tjy  friendly  associations.  The  so-called  apostolic  council 
was  of  this  nature,  yet  the  degree  of  uniformity  which  this  secured 
was  very  limited.  At  best  it  was  a  decree  of  toleration  observed 
by  groups  working  by  different  methods  and  in  different  fields. 
But  in  as  much  as  the  Christian  movement  at  this  stage  of  its 
development  embraced  all  those  divergent  groups  which  were 
trying  to  present  their  offer  of  salvation  to  an  enquiring  world, 
(not  to  mention  the  strictly  Jewish  party),  all  the  various  ele- 
ments which  go  to  make  up  the  composite  message  must  be  taken 
into  .account. 

To  those  Gentile  enquirers  who  approached  the  advocates 
of  Christianity,  it  is  obvious  that  a  fairly  uniform  answer  was 
given,  as  far  as  the  initiative  of  the  missionaries  was  concerned. 
It  embraced  the  idea  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  whose  prospective 
members,  having  prepared  themselves  by  the  observance  of  speci- 
fied conditions,  awaited  its  full  establishment  through  the  work 
of  Jesus  the  Messiah.  The  blessings  of  salvation  were  pictured 
in  terms  of  joyful  homage  paid  to  God,  entire  separation  from 
hated  enemies,  and  an  everlasting  life  of  transcendentalized 
earthly  and  social  experiences.  The  elements  of  the  soteriology 
were  presented  with  considerable  sharpness,  possessing  such  dis- 
tinctly Jewish  features  that  any  other  identification  would  be 
impossible.  If  modifications  of  this  message  are  to  be  noted  in 
the  utterances  of  the  Christians,  it  is  to  be  explained  by  the  de- 
mands of  the  new  converts  which  could  not  be  satisfied  on  the 
basis  of  typically  Jewish-Christian  beliefs. 

The  correspondence  of  Paul  offers  the  best  illustration  of 
the  answer  given  to  enquirers  whether  Jewish  or  Gentile.  No 
other  individual  who  participated  in  the  early  stages  of  the  mi- 
gratory movement  out  into  a  Gentile  world  has  left  such  a  wealth 
of  informing  literature,  and  in  no  one  does  the  question  of  sal- 
vation reach  such  acuteness.  One  may  judge  from  his  epistles 
what  the  predominating  message  of  Christianity  imust  have  been. 
Some  adhered  more  closely  to  the  Jewish  ideal,  and  others  were 
not  sensitive  to  the  sharp  clash  which  existed  between  the  two 


114  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

religious  attitudes  involved.  But  Paul  attempted  to  bring  them 
into  a  working  harmony,  and  for  this  reason  better  reveals  the 
characteristic  side  of  Christian  activity  than  any  other.  There 
.is  little  probability  that  he  was  in  any  way  the  inventor  of  new 
principles  of  religious  thought;  indeed  his  application  of  princi- 
ples miay  have,  in  many  cases,  followed  the  lead  of  his  teachers 
and  associates  within  the  church,  though  he  boldly  asserts  that 
he  received  his  gospel,  not  from  men,  but  through  the  revelation 
of  Christ,48  a  statement  which  he  supports  by  the  account  of 
his  conversion. 

In  the  first  verses  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  Romans,  Paul  gives 
a  succinct  statement  of  what  it  means  to  be  saved,  a  statement 
that  is  elaborated  and  supplemented  by  many  ;other  passages. 
(1)  There  is  an  assertion  of  a  peaceful  relation  with  God,  or  a 
kind  of  anticipatory  justification,  which  is  made  possible  through 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  (2) Hope  of  the  final  approval  of  God  emerges 
from  this  peace  and  assurance.  (3)  But  Paul  returns  to  urge  that 
the  tribulations  of  this  life  test  man  and  serve  as  a  basis  of  this 
hope.  (4)  The  love  of  God  is  shown  by  the  death  of  Jesus  in 
behalf  of  unrighteous  mankind  with  which  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  in  some  way  linked  up.  (5)  Assurance  of  final 
sialvation  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  sinners  who  believe  are  justified. 
This  is  more  difficult  to  believe  than  the  final  salvation  from  the 
wrath  of  God,  but  when  once  accepted  removes  all  difficulties 
attending  the  manifestation  of  apocalyptic  power  and  its  attend- 
ing judgment  of  salvation.  If  Paul  had  added  here  his  conviction 
that  salvation  is  for  all  who  believe,  he  would  have  touched  upon 
all  the  main  points  of  this  theme,  in  the  compass  of  a  few  sen- 
tences. The  points  mentioned  for  the  most  part  fit  in  with  the 
more  pictorial  representations  of  apocalypticism  in  its  less  radical 
forms. 

The  prominence  of  faith  in  the  place  often  given  to  the  works 
of  the  law  is  not  incompatible  with  the  Judaism  of  the  day. 
The  demands  of  propaganda  and  of  competition  introduced  faith 
as  a  criterion  by  which  one  gave  evidence  of  his  allegiance  to 
this  or  that  religion.  Its  importance  was  naturally  increased 
more  in  the  Dispersion  than  in  Palestine  where  the  problem  was 
conservation  and  not  expansion.  However  it  was  greatly  em- 
phasized in  the  Christian  movement  from  the  very  beginning 
because  of  the  fact  that  the  one  point  of  differentiation  between 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  115 

the  two  faiths,  Judaism  and  Christianity,  was  one  which  could 
only  be  apprehended  ,by  belief.  The  only  way  by  which  the 
Messiahship  oif  Jesus  could  be  preached  w.as  on  the  basis  of  faith. 
Those  who  came  into  Christianity  did  so  because  they  believed 
in  Jesus.49  The  rivalry  of  cults  in  the  Graeco-Romiain  world  and 
the  corresponding  prominence  given  to  faith  is  attested  by  the 
Fourth  Gospel.  Here  faith,  somewhat  intellectualized  it  is  true, 
is  indispensable  in  the  redemptive  scheme.50  But  the  difference 
between  emotional  faith  and  intellectual  faith  is  not  sufficient 
to  break  down  the  general  opposition  between  faith  and  works. 

In  the  field  covered  by  faith  and  legal  works,  the  great  ideas 
of  Paul's  correspondence  are  developed.  While  he  gave  a  per- 
sonal stamp  to  his  arguments  and  may  have  greatly  influenced 
contemporary  opinion,  it  is  impossible  to  insist  that  he  alone  was 
seeking  to  find  an  adjustment  of  the  Christian  message  to  its 
new  environment.  The  position  of  the  opponents  of  Paul,  un>- 
known  to  us  except  through  the  medium  of  his  letters,  while 
differing  radically  from  his  view  <of  the  relative  worth  of  law 
and  faith,  indicate  the  wide  prevalence  in  other  minds,  of  the 
questions  therein  involved.  'His  own  pre-conversion  experience 
heightened  the  contrast  greatly,  and  though  he  took  a  very  ad- 
vanced position,  he  did  so  only  with  great  inward  struggle. 

The  function  of  the  law  for  Saul,  the  Jewish  persecutor  of 
the  earty  Christians,  and  for  all  those  who  held  to  it  as  a  means 
by  which  salvation  might  be  secured,  is  easily  understood  in  the 
light  of  its  development  among  the  Hebrew  people.  God  was 
thought  of  as  a  Lawgiver,  a  judge  of  offences,  a  ruler  giving 
rewards  for  obedience,  or  a  member  of  a  covenant  relation.  In 
all  these  cases,  the  law  was  the  conditioning  factor  in  the  situ- 
ation. This  had  been  the  case  throughout  the  history  of  the  Jews. 
Whatever  the  content  of  salvation  wais  from  time  to  time,51  the 
law,  either  ethically  or  mechanically  interpreted,  had  been  the 
guide  to  those  who  longed  for  the  establishment  of  friendly 
relationships  between  God  and  man.  The  law  was  given  from 
above  by  God.  Man's  part  was  that  of  meeting  the  requirements 
laid  down  and  thereby  meriting  the  rewards  which  were  held 
out  by  the  law.  The  adequacy  of  the  law  in  securing  salvaion  for 
men  was  what  Paul  (and  others  doubtless)  called  in  question.52 
Pla<ul  had  no  fault  to  find  with  the  promised  salvation ;  only  with 
the  means  by  which  it  was  to  be  secured.  All  men,  so  Paul  argues 


116  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

in  Romans  1-2,  are  in  need  of  salvation  since  they  are  in  various 
ways  subject  to  sin;  but  there  is  no  hope  of  redemption,  in  as 
much  as  the  law  has  conditions  which  experience  has  shown 
to  be  beyond  man  's  ability  to  meet.  Therefore,  by  ian  irrefutable 
argument,  the  law  is  not  a  blessing  but  -a  curse ;  because  of  offer- 
ing conditions  by  which  salvation  is  impossible  of  attainment,  it 
places  man  under  condemnation  for  not  meeting  them.53  Further, 
Paul  argues  that  God  did  not  intend  to  give  salvation  by  the  law, 
but  rather  to  convince  man  of  his  sin  and  thus  make  him  a  fit 
subject  for  the  salvation  which  would  be  given  through  Christ 
and  which  was  attainable  through  faith  after  the  pattern  sug- 
gested by  Abraham's  experience.  From  the  very  beginning, 
faith  was  the  only  workable  plan,  and  the  operation  of  the  law 
now  proved  it,  thus  attesting  its  own  value  iand  quality.54 

It  is  not  likely  that  Paul  elaborated  his  argument  about  the 
law  at  an  early  time  and  was  thus  led  to  abandon  the  Jewish 
faith.  It  is  much  more  likely  that  he,  >as  a  member  of  the  Disper- 
sion, followed  fairly  familiar  lines  of  thought,  and  only  developed 
his  polemic  against  legalism  when  under  pressure  from  the 
Judaizers.  So  bitter  became  his  opposition  to  the  law  as  a  means 
of  salvation  that  he  propounded  the  belief  ttoat  God  must  redeem 
man  from  the  law  itself. 

The  steps  by  which  Paul 's  position  was  reached  are  not  clear 
and  open,  and  it  is  a  task  of  great  intricacy  to  outline  what  seems 
most  probably  to  have  been  the  factors  which  Lay  behind  his 
formulation.  In  the  case  of  the  conventional  Jewish  exposition 
of  the  divine  redemptive  plan,  the  explanation  seems  quite  defi- 
nite. By  a  course  of  conduct  on  the  part  of  man,  God  is  made 
willing  to  restore  him  to  a  position  of  favor,  and  this  will  be 
consummated  on  the  day  of  final  judgment.  The  terms  of  the 
transaction  always  were  in  God's  control.  He  could  make  them 
as  hard  or  as  easy  as  he  would.  He  could  always  forgive  man 
when  he  so  desired.  The  prominence  which  Christians  gave  to 
Jesus  as  Messiah  had  no  real  effect  on  this  view,  beyond  the  fact 
that  the  Messiah  now  did  the  forgiving,  with  the  sanction  of 
God.55  This  variation  was  due  simply  to  the  position  of  the 
exalted  Jesus  as  God's  official  representative.  But  there  was 
also  a  desire  for  forgiveness  of  sins  prior  to  the  day  of  judgment, 
In  response  to  this  we  see  Jesus'  power  of  forgiveness  brought 
into  operation  immediately.  Acts  2 :38  and  Luke  24 :47  tare  proba- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  117 

bly  to  be  understood  in  this  way,  though  they  are  not  out  of 
keeping  with  the  apocalyptic  scheme.  Moreover  there  are  inci- 
dents in  the  gospel  narrative  of  Jesus'  life  which  show  that  Jesus 
was  while  on  earth  able,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  which  he 
possessed,  to  forgive  sins  without  delay.56 

In  all  this,  however,  there  is  no  word  of  anything  beyond 
Jesus'  power  to  forgive  sins,  comparable  to  God's  undisputed 
power.  There  is  in  these  passages  no  hint  that  Jesus  need  die 
for  the  removal  of  human  sin.  But  the  idea  of  vicarious  death 
was  not  unknown  among  Jews  of  that  period  .and  earlier.57  It 
was  based  primarily  on  the  conviction  of  social  solidarity  'and  the 
identification  of  the  group  with  its  authorized  representative. 
This  was  a  view  which  Paul  accepted  himself  in  reference  to  the 
death  of  Jesus,58  and  which  was  also  used  to  explain  how  sin 
could  be  present  in  all  people  through  the  transgression  of 
Adam.59  The  belief  finds  its  origin  in  the  experiences  of  primitive 
life  and  is  continued  into  modern  society  wherever  the  sense  of 
social  responsibility  is  at  all  keenly  felt.  On  this  ground,  one 
might  suffer  and  die  for  the  sins  of  his  people,  and  such  a  belief 
was  present  in  the  primitive  Christian  message  which  Paul  re- 
ceived: "that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  scrip- 
tures".60 The  fact  of  Jesus'  death,  a  stumbling  block  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Christian  community,  was  thus  brought  under  the 
sanction  of  a  divine  plan  in  which  the  cross  became  necessary. 

When  this  vindication  of  the  death  of  Jesus  was  secured 
there  was  no  need  of  further  elaboration  of  the  vicarious  ele- 
ment. Christians  were  content  to  see  the  saving  significance  of 
Jesus  in  the  authority  of  his  exalted  Messiahship  and  in  the 
vicarious  death  for  our  sins.  There  was  no  need  of  an  elaboration 
of  these  points  into  a  scheme  other  than  the  one  taken  over  from 
the  Jews.  Paul,  however,  in  view  of  his  controversies  with  the 
Judaizers,  was  forced  to  define  his  position  more  in  detail.  The 
death  of  Jesus  was  necessary  for  man's  salvation,  because  on 
other  grounds  he  could  not  maintain  the  dignity  and  justice  of 
his  dealings  with  man.61  The  law  made  requirements,  and  God 
himself  had  made  the  law,  faulty  and  temporary  though  it  was. 
Therefore  the  atoning  death  took  place,  and  the  law  which  had 
made  it  necessary  was  then  set  aside,  and  a  new  one  put  in  its 
place.  This  phase  of  the  discussion  is  not  for  the  purpose  of 
assuring  men  that  sin«  will  be  forgiven,  but  to  explain  the  setting 


118  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

aside  of  the  law,  which  Paul  (acknowledged  as  of  divine  origin, 
end  of  divine  authority  for  a  time  at  least.  The  forgiveness  of 
sins  is  still  confidently  based  on  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ 
which  will  be  shown  at  the  proper  time,62  and  salvation  from  the 
law,  while  very  important  in  Paul's  thought,  is  after  all,  inci- 
dental to  the  great  salvation  of  the  final  judgment. 

Besides  the  explanation  of  Jesus'  death  in  terms  of  juridi- 
cal relationship,  as  would  be  natural  when  dealing  with  the  law, 
there  are  a  number  of  passages  in  which  Paul  unmistakably  uses 
the  language  of  sacrifice.63  The  Jews  of  the  Dispersion  had  lost 
their  original  feeling  for  the  sacrificial  system,  but  it  had  a  great 
deal  of  symbolic  value  on  account  of  their  history  and  traditions. 
Paul  probably  puts  this  meaning  into  his  imagery  of  the  sacrifice. 
It  is  not  a  basic  argument,  but  it  can  not  be  explained  except  as 
baving  been  drawn  from  the  institution  which  had  such  great 
power  at  an  earlier  time. 

Starting  with  the  faith  in  Jesus  as  Messiah,  the  central  fea- 
ture in  the  Christian  propaganda,  the  problem  of  salvation  was 
interpreted  by  the  leaders  in  the  traditional  way  as  far  as  pos- 
sible. It  would  seem  that  Paul  and  doubtless  others  of  his  type, 
were  driven  to  greater  reliance  on  faith  and  less  reliance  on  law 
than  was  ordinarily  the  case.  This  was  brought  about,  not  by  Hel- 
lenistic sympathies  »at  the  outset,  but  by  the  ultra-Jewish  among 
the  Christians  themselves  who  created  an  opposition.  This  em- 
phasis on  faith  as  contrasted  with  the  law,  resulted  in  a  further 
amplification,  the  abrogation  of  the  law  and  man's  redemption 
from  it,  by  the  death  of  Jesus  who  thus  removed  the  danger  from 
sin  which  the  law  was,  by  theory,  supposed  to  dispell.  While  en- 
gaged in  the  process  of  evolving  and  defending  these  contra- 
legal  beliefs,  the  Christians  were  engaged  in  a  new  and  important 
quest.  They  discovered  how  they  were  to  be  saved  from  the  law 
and  its  curse.  Apparently  no  one  had  attempted  to  do  so  radi- 
cal a  thing  before.  Jesus,  whom  the  Christians  preached  so 
earnestly,  is  not  quoted  as  having  taught  so  revolutionary  a  doc- 
trine. He,  and  others,  a  few  of  whose  words  have  come  down  to 
us  in  tradition,  set  about  to  give  the  law  a  new  content  and  a 
new  quality,  but  no  word  wlas  spoken  against  it  as  law.  Prob- 
ably others  who  had  less  sentimental  attachment  to  the  peculiar 
traditions  of  the  faith,  gave  up  the  law  far  easier  than  did  Paul. 
But  even  in  that  case,  they  were  engaged  in  a  similar  quest.  Their 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  119 

objectives  were  more  easily  attained,  though  perhaps  less  passion- 
ately held. 

The  traditional  features  of  the  -apocalyptic  hope  are  to  be 
found  everywhere  in  the  records  of  this  period.  The  beliefs 
incorporated  in  this  exposition  of  God's  dealings  with  man  do 
not  properly  constitute  ia  quest  for  salvation.  They  had  been 
long  held  in  a  fairly  unchanged  form.  They  were  doctrines, 
dogmas  of  Jewish  faith.  To  perhaps  a  considerable  number  of 
non-Jewish  converts,  apocalypticism  held  out  a  measure  of  hope 
which  could  not  be  otherwise  obtained.  The  theory,  it  must  be 
remembered,  grew  up  in  a  period  of  national  depression.  The 
institutions  of  the  people  had  so  impressed  themselves  upon 
their  life  that  their  pictures  of  the  future  followed  the  lines 
suggested.  To  those  of  the  Graeeo-Roman  world  who  had  suf- 
fered because  of  the  disorganization  of  the  social  order  but  who 
still  retained  a  love  for  the  'forms  which  it  ideally  possessed,  the 
promise  of  a  new  kingdom  in  the  future  heaven  in  which  there 
could  be  nothing  imperfect  offered  a  satisfying  salvation.  While 
the  Jews,  more  than  any  others,  held  stubbornly  to  their 
national  institutions,  the  ideals  of  social  organization  were  not 
/absent  from  Graeco-Roman  life ;  and  though  impossible  of  estab- 
lishment in  this  world,  were  fondly  held  in  hope  for  the  future. 
The  continuance  of  apocalypticism  in  the  church  amply  justifies 
this  conclusion. 

Local  iand  temporary  disturbances  of  the  peace  of  Christians 
even  in  Paul's  day  were  sufficient  to  keep  alive  the  expectation 
of  the  sudden  coming  of  the  Lord.  The  Jews  longed  particularly 
for  a  kingdom ;  the  Christians  'for  the  Lord,  the  head  of  the  king- 
dom. Paul  believed  that  the  coming  of  the  Lord  was  at  hand  as 
did  most,  if  not  all,  of  his  fellow-Christians.  He  did  not  profess 
to  know  the  exact  hour  of  his  appearance.64  The  same  idea  is 
presented  in  the  gospels,  and  certainly  was  widely  held  by  Chris- 
tians, as  the  corresponding  belief  was  held  by  Jews,  and  by  some 
Graeco-Romans  also.  Paul  finally  became  convinced  that  the 
great  day  could  not  or  would  not  come  until  the  "falling  away" 
had  taken  place.  The  arch-enemy  of  God's  work  was  yet  to  make 
one  supreme  effort  to  overcome  the  forces  of  good.  But  the 
Messiah  in  battle  army  would  descend  and  by  his  heavenly  power 
overcome  aH  resistance.  Then  the  saints  who  had  died  would 
be  summoned  to  his  side  and  the  living  transformed  into  heavenly 


120  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

beings.  Paul  does  not  deal  with  the  reign  of  Christ  on  earth,  the 
resurrection  of  the  evil,  and  their  final  annihilation  or  eternal 
torture,  in  the  explicit  way  followed  by  the  traditional  Jewish 
apocalypticists.  But  he  does  picture  a  final  judgment  at  which 
the  vindication  of  the  righteous  will  be  made  complete  and  the 
eternal  kingdom  of  blessedness  will  be  inaugurated.65  The  omis- 
sions which  are  to  be  noted  in  his  statements  about  the  apocalyptic 
events  do  not  indicate  any  noteworthy  variation  from  the  ideas 
he  had  inherited.  Similar  lacunae  are  to  be  noted  in  some  of  the 
Conventional  Jewish  Messianic  programs.  While  holding  tena- 
ciously to  the  final  judgment  and  all  the  God-directed  events  of 
that  time,  he  seems  to  have  lost  interest  in  some  phases  of  it  for 
one  reason  or  another.  'It  is  not  that  he  substituted  a  Hellenistic 
belief  in  the  place  of  one  of  Jewish  origin,  but  it  may  very  well 
be  that  Christian  adaptations  of  Hellenistic  interests  or  purely 
Christian  creations  may  have  lessened  the  stress  put  upon  certain 
points  of  the  apocalyptic  scheme,  which  as  a  whole  he  was  not 
conscious  of  abandoning. 

The  same  characterization  of  these  elements  of  the  Pauline 
soteriology  may  be  given  as  in  the  case  of  the  Jewish  faith.  In 
the  case  of  Paul  they  may  have  been  somewhat  more  formal  than 
in  Judaism  during  the  years  of  bitter  persecution  and  struggle. 
Yet  Paul,  as  a  non-Palestinian,  was  a  Jew  of  the  Jews  and  placed 
a  high  estimate  on  national  solidarity,66  and  retained  part  of  his 
heritage  tenaciously,  in  spite  of  his  rejection  of  legalism  and 
ceremonialism.  Except  for  setting  ;aside  the  law  and  its  formal 
requirements,  and  the  substitution  of  faith,  there  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  he  altered  to  any  considerable  degree  the  whole 
apocalyptic  scheme.  But  as  already  suggested,  this  was  less  a 
quest  for  salvation  than  a  stereotyped  theory  growing  out  of  the 
experiences  of  the  Jews,  in  which  the  hope  of  salvation  was 
shifted  from  an  earlier  confidence  in  the  final  righting  of  this 
world's  wrongs  by  God's  assistance,  to  an  expectation  of  G-od's 
miraculous  intervention  and  the  setting  up  of  a  new  world  order. 

In  accepting  the  conclusion  that  Paul  retained  his  Jewish 
thought  about  the  way  in  which  man  was  to  be  saved,  one  is  not 
barred  from  asserting  that  he  appropriated  non-Jewish  beliefs 
not  as  substitutions  but  as  supplements.  And,  in  point  of  fact, 
it  is  here  that  he  pursued  his  real  quest,  for  he  stood  on  new 
ground  land  in  the  midst  of  new  requirements.  The  kind  of  sal- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  121 

vation  which  Paul,  as  a  Jew,  expected  was  based  on  conduct, 
personal  relations  toward  God,  doing  his  will,  etc.  It  was  con- 
structed on  the  foundation  of  social  institutions,  which  alone 
served  as  the  means  of  control.  The  will  and  power  of  the  ruler 
which  alone  could  solve  the  difficulties  of  that  age,  were  trans- 
cendentalized  and  made  the  basis  of  assurance  that  God  the  great 
ruler  of  the  universe,  would  finally. solve  all  difficulties  and  give 
his  subjects  salvation. 

But  in  the  Graeco-Roman  world,  the  category  of  personal 
relations  did  not  dominate  the  methods  by  which  salvation  was 
sought.  It  is  true  that  the  emperor  cult  was  based  on  the  re- 
lationship sustained  toward  the  ruler,  and  on  its  religious  side, 
offered  a  limited  parallel  to  the  Jewish  type  of  thought.  In  a 
measure,  the  same  may  be  said  with  regard  to  certain  phases  of 
Mithra  worship.  Its  apocalyptic  interest,  its  expectation  of  a 
coming  Savior,  its  imagery  of  conflict  between  two  opposing 
armies,  (are  very  much  like  the  Jewish  and  early  Christian  rep- 
resentations, and  indeed  may  have  been  somewhat  influential  in 
the  formation  of  the  Jewish  apocalyptic.  This  thought,  however, 
was  not  characteristic  of  Graeco-Roman  life  and  times  as  ex- 
pressed in  their  religious  thought.  The  continual  state  of  flux 
in  social  institutions  from  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great  until 
after  the  time  of  Augustus,  formed  no  basis  for  the  establishment 
of  a  theodicy  such  as  was  possible  under  the  earlier  national 
organizations.  The  gloom  and  depression  of  the  age  stimulated 
a  search  to  discover  the  source  of  evil  and  of  good  in  qualities 
inhering  in  the  substance  and  nature  of  Imen  and  beings.  This 
method  was  adopted  by  quite  divergent  groups.  The  mystery 
cults  rested  upon  such  a  foundation,  but  no  less  so  the  ontological 
philosophies  of  the  day.  All  the  variant  forms  of  cults  and 
philosophies  were  earnestly  seeking  to  find  salvation  for  man  by 
changing  in  some  way  his  ''essence".  There  was  present,  it  must 
be  admitted,  a  considerable  consciousness  of  the  necessity  of 
doing  the  will  of  God  or  Gods  in  order  to  gain  favor  in  their  sight. 
This  was  carried  over  from  the  mythologies  of  early  times,  and 
probably  registered  social  situations  to  a  degree  comparable  to 
that  actually  existing  among  the  people.  While  this  point  of  view 
was  particularly  characteristic  of  the  Graeco-Roman  society  dur- 
ing the  period  which  concerns  us  here,  it  registered  itself  slightly, 
at  least,  among  the  Jews  themselves.67  Thus  in  Hebrew  literature, 


122  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

spirit  is  conceived  of  as  personalized,  and  therefore  responsive  to 
relationships  with  m>an,  and  also  as  substance,  and  as  such  having 
a  magic  effect  upon  whatever  it  touches.68  The  latter  view  was 
sublimated  under  pressure  exerted  by  the  highly  specialized  social 
structure  existing  among  the  Jews.  But  with  the  Greeks  par- 
ticularly, there  was  no  unified  system  of  control,  and  as  a  result 
of  the  attending  pessimism,  men  turned  individually  to  a  solution 
of  their  problems  in  terms  of  magical  control  variously 
expressed.69 

There  are  in  Paul,  and  other  Christian  writers  of  approxi- 
mately the  some  period,  statements  that  can  not  be  related  to  the 
typical  Jewish  thought,  but  which  are  entirely  in  accord  with 
the  Griaeco-Boman.  It  is  possible  that  the  source  is  really  the 
occasional  and  half-hidden  Jewish  statement  which  deals  with 
substance-power,  but  it  is  far  more  likely  that  the  Jews  of  the 
Dispersion  caught  the  idea  from  their  environment  rather  than 
from  their  own  sacred  literature  which  was  so  largely  given  over 
to  a  different  point  of  view.  In  so  far  as  these  beliefs  had  great 
meaning  to  the  Christians,  it  is  probable  that  they  were  secured 
from  their  associates  to  whom  also  they  had  great  meaning,  rather 
than  from  the  literary  remains  of  the  Jews  among  whom  the  ideas 
were  incidental  and  not  characteristic. 

The  Christian  utterances  to  which  allusion  has  been  made, 
deal  with  a  very  important  part  of  the  Christian  theory  of 
salvation.  They  concern  themselves  with  the  problem  of  salvation 
as  it  presented  itself  to  them  in  the  Graeco-Romian  world. 
Everywhere  the  Hellenists  were  concerned  with  their  evil  nature 
afnd  the  necessity  of  changing  it  in  order  to,  be  saved.  Some 
said  that  the  trusting  initiate  could  be  merged  with  Dionysus, 
Osiris,  or  some  other  divine  being  and  thus  made  into  a  new 
creature,  a  very  god  himself.  Others  scorned  such  crude  thoughts, 
and  expounded  a  theory  of  divine  essence  in  every  human  soul 
which  fanned  into  a  flame  by  man's  good  conduct,  would  trans- 
form him  into  pure  deity.  Christians  did  not  ignore  this  demand. 
Believing  as  they  did  that  their  religion  was  able  to  satisfy  all 
demands  and  to  redeem  all  men,  they  sought  to  explain  how 
their  questioners  could  be  saved  as  Christians,  even  better  than 
by  the  other  religions.  There  are  not  ,a  few  expressions  in  New 
Testament  literature  which  seem  to  have  no  affinities  with  any 
type  of  first  century  thought  except  that  of  the  characteristic 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  123 

Graeco-Roman  life,  as  far  as  its  soteriological  aspects  are  con- 
cerned. 

On  the  more  formial  side  there  are  passages  which  at  once 
suggest  a  relation  between  the  thought  involved  and  some  of  the 
recognized  expressions  of  Christianity's  new  environment.  Most 
noticeable  of  all,  perhaps,  is  the  not  uncom!mon  use  of  the  word 
mystery  (/U,VOT^/OIOV),  which  may  be  read  with  no  queries 
by  the  modern  man  acquainted  with  its  present  broadened  use. 
In  most  cases  the  mystery  of  the  ancient  world  was  a  quite  spe- 
cific thing.  It  referred  to  the  numerous  cults  which  prevailed  all 
through  the  civilization  of  that  time.  These  cults  professed  to 
hold  in  their  control  the  means  of  availing  oneself  of  the  potency 
of  the  deity.  In  the  conflict  of  group®,  the  secret  of  the  technique 
by  which  the  god  was  brought  into  human  experience,  became  a 
treasure  to  be  guarded  zealously.  This  was  itself  a  revelation 
from  on  high  and  not  in  any  sense  a  man  made  scheme,  as  one 
may  see  amply  illustrated  in  the  eleventh  book  of  the  Metamor- 
phoses of  Apuleius.  Similarly  Christianity  possessed  a  revealed 
power  which  had  not  previously  been  known,  for  Paul  refers  to 
the  gospel  as  if  he  thought  it  was  "the  revelation  of  the  mystery 
which  hiath  been  kept  in  silence  through  times  eternal,  but  now 
is  manifested".70  Paul  thought  of  himself  and  his  fellow-  minis- 
ters as  "stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God".71  There  are  other 
references  to  mystery  or  mysteries  which  further  strengthen  the 
likelihood  that  an  attempt  was  being  made  to  make  Christianity 
as  appealing  as  were  the  popular  cults  of  Graeco-Roman  life.72 
This  could  only  be  done  by  the  new  faith  through  answers  to 
the  common  questions  of  the  time.  While  the  mere  use  of  the 
word  "mystery"  seems  to  have  no  adequate  explanation  aside 
from  an  allusion  to  the  religious  life  of  the  Hellenistic  world,  it 
is  in  the  field  o'f  soteriology  that  the  greatest  suggestiveness  is 
to  be  seen. 

Frequent  allusion  hias  been  made  in  this  discussion  to  the 
kind  of  salvation  which  the  typical  Hellenist  sought  and  the 
means  by  which  he  attempted  to  secure  it.  Mystery  and  phi- 
losophy alike  promised  men  redemption  from  the  evil  nature  which 
enthralled  them,  through  the  action  of  divine  essence  or  being 
of  which  the  individual  availed  himself.  Man  was  what  he  was, 
not  because  of  his  own  action,  but  because  of  something  that  had 
happened  at  the  beginning  of  time  or  at  erection,  and  had  con- 


124  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

taminated  all  mankind.  Sin  or  evil  was  not  in  a  man's  heart, 
but  in  the  phylon  of  the  race.  Salvation  meant  the  renovating 
of  man's  whole  being  by  the  magical  transforming  power  of  an 
uncontaminated  divine  being  with  which  man  became  in  some  way 
identified.  Apart  from  the  conscious  or  unconscious  use  of  the 
word  "mystery",  did  the  early  Christian  preachers  to  the  Gen- 
tiles make  use  of  this  teaching  about  salvation? 

The  first  thing  to  be  considered  is  the  estimate  placed  upon 
man's  nature  and  his  ability  to  promote  his  own  redemption. 
In  the  Jewish  religion  the  chief  concern  was  to  know  God's  will 
and  then  to  do  it.  In  the  apocalyptic  scheme  to  which  most 
Christians  adhered,  man's  part  was  not  as  great  as  that  of  God, 
but  at  the  same  time  no  great  stress  was  placed  upon  his  inherent 
helplessness.  Problems  of  original  sin  and  a  corrupt  nature  were 
negligible  as  compared  with  the  greater  concern  of  doing  the 
will  of  God  as  a  prerequisite  to  the  coming  of  the  kingdom.  But 
in  Paul  there  is  to  be  seen  the  introduction  of  the  Greek  interest. 
Mian  possesses  an  evil  nature  which  prevents  him  from  doing 
God's  will.  This  decision  of  Paul  gives  point  to  his  denial  of 
the  law. 

In  the  Roman  letter,  particularly  chapters  six,  seven,  and 
eight,  sin  is  frequently  referred  to  as  the  outcropping  of  an  evil 
nature  which  is  hostile  to  the  good  nature  which  results  from  the 
indwelling  of  Christ.  "The  mind  of  the  flesh  is  enmity  against 
God;  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can 
be."73  "The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit 
against  the  flesh;  for  these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other; 
that  ye  may  not  do  the  things  that  ye  would."74  Whether  these 
chapters  be  taken  as  autobiographical  or  not,  they  can  only  be 
understood  as  implying  a  practical  dualism  in  human  nature. 
Sin  was  a  force  working  in  human  experience  to  bring  man 
low.75  Sin  was  not  limited  in  its  operation  to  any  part  of  the 
human  race ;  it  was  universal.76  This  point  of  view,  so  explicitly 
stated  by  Paul,  can  not  be  paralleled  in  typical  Jewish  thought. 
Even  the  passage  quoted  by  Paul  himself  to  show  the  universality 
of  sin,  does  not  reflect  the  idea  oif  sinful  nature  as  he  describes  it : 
' '  There  is  none  righteous,  no  not  one ; 

There  is  none  that  understandeth, 

There  is  none  that  seeketh  after  God; 

They  have  all  turned  aside,  they  are  together  become 
unprofitable ; 

There  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not  so  much  as  one."77 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  125 

It  is  clearly  said  here  that  all  men  have  turned  from  God,  as  if 
by  their  own  will  they  had  decided  to  seek  their  own  ways  of  sin. 
But  Paul  introduces  a  new  element.  He  saw  in  man's  nature  a 
compulsion  to  do  wrong  which  was  not  dependent  upon  man's 
will  to  do  wrong.  In  fact  the  very  opposite  is  the  case.  "For 
I  know  that  in  me,  that  is  in  my  flesh,  dwelleth  no  good  thing: 
for  to  will  is  present  with  me,  but  to  do  that  which  is  good  is  not. 
For  the  good  which  I  would  I  do  not ;  but  the  evil  which  I  would 
not,  that  I  practice.  But  if  what  I  would  not,  that  I  do,  it  is  no 
more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  which  dwelleth  in  me."78  Tangible 
sins  and  evil  are  simply  expressions  of  the  inner  quality  of  man 's 
evil  nature,  in  other  words,  of  his  flesh;  while  good  deeds  are 
the  expression  of  the  Spirit  which  is  within  him.79 

Such  tan  interpretation  of  Paul's  statements  about  the  flesh 
is  unwelcome  to  many  on  the  ground  that  he  has  often  used  the 
term  in  other  senses  less  derogatory.  It  is  true  that  Paul  uses 
<rap£  in  various  ways,  and  often  in  a  good  or  indifferent  sense.80 
But  just  as  the  conception  of  flesh  as  evil  can  not  be  extended 
to  all  his  references,  neither  can  the  good  meaning  be  applied 
in  tall  cases.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  judgment  placed  upon 
the  flesh  when  the  question  of  its  nature  is  once  raised.81  It  is 
of  such  a  character  that  redemption  ifrom  it  is  not  possible  apart 
from  the  coming  in  of  a  new  and  more  powerful  force.  "Wretched 
man  that  I  am !  who  shall  deliver  me  out  of  the  body  of  this 
death?  I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  So  then 
I  of  myself  with  the  mind,  indeed,  serve  the  law  of  God;  but 
with  the  flesh  the  Law  of  sin.  There  is  therefore  now  no  con- 
demnation to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  the  law  of  the 
Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin 
and  death. '  '82 

An  understanding  of  Paul's  view  necessitates  the  introduc- 
tion of  another  of  his  favorite  ideas,  and  one  which  is  generally 
associ&ted  with  the  life  in  the  Spirit.  To  what  extent  Paul's 
conversion  experience  influenced  his  position,  it  is  difficult  to 
say.  Jesus  had  appeared  to  Paul  as  a  spiritual  being,  the  object 
of  a  special  revelation.  The  earthly  life  of  Jesus  was  known  to 
Paul,  though  he  does  not  seem  to  have  stressed  it  greatly.83  But 
Jesus'  resurrection  land  attainment  to  eternal  life  was  possible 
only  on  the  basis  of  a  righteous,  sinless  life,84  for  otherwise  he 
would  have  suffered  the  usual  fate  of  men.  The  only  explanation 


126  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

of  this  was  the  possession  of  something  which  others  did  not 
possess.80  By  virtue  of  this  endowment  he  was  able  to  overcome 
the  temptations  to  which  man  is  subjected  and  to  be  exalted  to 
the  station  of  honor  which  he  previously  had  enjoyed,  after 
passing  through  the  gate  of  death  and  resurrection.86 

We  have  seen  that  the  Messiah  was  closely  related  to  the 
whole  Jewish  picture  of  apocalyptic  salvation.  His  coming  meant 
the  final  establishment  of  G-od's  will  among  men.  By  many 
Christians  the  difficulties  of  reconciling  Jesus'  death  with  his 
Messiahship  must  hiave  been  ignored,  while  with  others  it  had 
its  justification  on  the  basis  of  its  being  necessary  for  his  exal- 
tation. Similarly  his  life  was  an  anticipatory  manifestation  of 
his  Messianic  power.  But  for  Paul,  and  no  doubt  for  a  consider- 
able number  of  Christians  who  followed  his  interpretation,  Jesus 
had  a  significance  not  to  be  attached  to  the  conventional  Mes- 
sianic functions.  Paul's  conversion  experience,  or  at  least  its 
later  interpretations,  made  Jesus  at  once  available  for  the  slaving 
of  men.  Apparently  the  power  which  made  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  possible  was  more  than  the  power  and  authority  of  God, 
or  better,  God  raised  him  because  he  possessed  some  heavenly 
quality.87  The  Jews  thought  of  men  being  raised  because  of 
the  faithful  keeping  of  the  law, — doing  the  will  of  God.  But 
for  Paul  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  dead,  as  "the  first- 
fruits  of  them  that  are  asleep",88  was  of  supreme  importance  in 
assuring  believers  of  the  certainty  of  their  resurrection.89  He 
went  further;  the  spiritual  life  which  Jesus  possessed,  not  only 
made  his  own  and  his  followers'  resurrection  possible,  but  it 
also  so  permeated  their  lives  as  to  transform  them  and  make 
them  holy  men  in  this  life.  It  was  through  the  presence  of  the 
Spirit  that  the  quality  and  power  of  the  "flesh"  in  which  evil 
resided  was  counteracted. 

As  a  Jew,  Paul  had  considerable  background  for  his  concep- 
tion of  the  Spirit.  It  was  thought  of  partly  in  materialistic  terms. 
It  was  something  which  would  rest  upon  one  or  which  could  be 
poured  out  upon  one,  though  it  was  soimetimes  personalized.  But 
on  the  whole,  the  Spirit  w>as  not  greatly  stressed  by  traditional 
Jewish  thought.  It  marked  the  ecstatic  outburst  of  the  prophet, 
or  consecrated  the  agent  of  Jehovah  in  the  establishment  of  the 
kingdom.90  The  particular  phase  of  the  activity  of  the  Spirit 
which  is  developed  by  Paul  deals  with  the  permanence  and  quick- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  127 

ening  power  with  which  it  operates  in  one's  life.  The  presence 
of  the  Spirit  puts  an  end  to  the  life  of  evil  and  darkness  which  the 
man  of  flesh  lived.  "But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh  but  in  the  Spirit, 
if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you.  But  if  any  man 
hath  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his."91  "If  we  live 
by  the  Spirit,  by  the  Spirit  let  us  also  walk. '  '92  It  has  often  been 
observed  that  Paul  does  not  distinguish  between  his  use  of  Spirit, 
Spirit  of  God,  and  Spirit  of  Christ.93  And  furthermore  he  iden- 
tifies the  Lord  and  the  Spirit,9*  thus  making  clear  his  conviction 
that  the  potent  factor  in  the  reclaiming  of  men  was  the  introduc- 
tion of  spirit-force  into  them.  It  was  this  which  had  turned  him 
from  his  persecutions  to  the  support  of  the  Christian  movement,95 
and  had  given  him  new  life  "in Christ".96  On  the  side  of  histori- 
cal identity,  Paul  would  probably  have  made  careful  distinctions, 
but  on  the  side  of  mystical  experience  he  emphasized  the  trans- 
forming power  of  the  new  force  within  one  by  connecting  it  with 
God,  God's  Spirit,  or  his  Son.  The  significant  thing  is  that  the 
new  life  which  one  lived  "in  Christ"  was  divinely  validated.  One 
was  made  a  new  man,  having  put  aside  the  old  man.  ' '  Wherefore 
if  any  man  is  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature :  the  old  things  are 
passed  away ;  behold  they  are  become  new. '  '97  The  new  man  was 
not  adjudged  so  because  he  had  a  new  determination  to  do  what 
God  would  have  him  do,  but  because  he  was  mystically  united 
with  deity.  "For  ye  died  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in 
God."98 

The  nature  of  the  spiritual  life  is  to  a  certain  extent  explained 
by  Paul's  view  of  the  resurrection.  The  Christian  in  this  life 
enjoys  nuany  of  the  benefits  of  the  better  life  which  is  to  come. 
The  life  of  the  resurrection  is  the  continuation  of  the  present 
spiritual  life  and  the  farther  removal  from  the  things  that  are 
evil.  IVLan's  hope  lies  in  the  .fact  that  after  the  death  of  this 
earthly  body,  the  eternal  spiritual  life,  already  begun,  will  con- 
tinue. Perfect  salvation  is  not  possible  until  then.99  The  new 
body  of  the  resurrection  will  not  'be  a  fleshly  body,  but  spiritual, 
not  corruptible  but  incorruptible,100  for  "flesh  and  blood  can  not 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God;  neither  doth  corruption  inherit  in- 
corruption".  Conceptions  such  as  this  are  not  unheard  of  in 
Jewish  literature,  although  the  usual  association  of  the  future  life 
within  a  kingdom  tended  to  retain  the  cruder  elements  of  the 
earthly  hopes.  The  Apocalypse  of  Baruch,101  approximates  the 


128  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

views  of  Paul  as  to  the  resurrection  body.  The  dualism  between 
"flesh  and  spirit"  is,  however,  characteristic  of  Hellenistic 
thought,  for  the  body  and  its  limitations  were  the  burden  of  men 
in  their  attempt  to  free  themselves  and  escape  to  an  untrammelled 
life. 

The  life  of  the  flesh  and  the  life  of  the  Spirit  become  clear 
when  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  redemptive  process.  Freedom, 
from  the  entanglements  associated  with  flesh  was  found  in  the  life 
in  Christ..  By  its  magic  touch  the  old  nature,  the  old  man,  w.as 
transformed  into  the  likeness  of  Christ.102  One  power  counter- 
acted another  and  the  victory  of  one  or  the  other  made  man 
live  or  die.  This  idea  was  not  native  to  Jewish  thought,  where, 
as  we  have  seen,  all  imen  were  exhorted  to  do  the  will  of  God  and 
thus  win  his  favor  and  salvation.  However  it  is  entirely  con- 
sonant with  the  Hellenistic  thought  of  salvation  which  had  as  its 
basic  principle  the  transformation  of  evil  or  impure  nature  by  one 
of  opposite  character  and  the  merging  of  the  two  in  the  process. 
Paul  did  not  necessarily  appropriate  all  the  elements  of  Graeco- 
Boman  thought  in  the  subject  when  he  adopted  the  belief  in  mys- 
tical union.  He  did  not  concern  himself  with  the  philosophic  dis- 
cussions about  materiality,  or  the  order  and  source  of  creation. 
The  Greeks  entered  into  endless  discussions  and  took  widely  dif- 
ferent and  inconsistent  positions.  It  was  not  more  necessary  for 
the  Hellenistic  philosopher  to  affirm  an  impure  source  for  the 
flesh  than  for  Paul.103  Paul  however  was  not  essentially  a 
philosopher.  For  this  reason  he  did  not  take  up  many  of  the  fun- 
damental questions  with  which  less  practical  but  more  exacting 
thinkers  concerned  themselves  in  his  day.  He  dealt  with  a  prac- 
tical dualism  with  which  he  was  continually  coming  into  contact 
in  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Graeco-Romans. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  philosophic 
discussions  about  the  ultimate  source  of  evil  and  the  connection 
between  it  and  the  flesh,  there  was  in  the  mystery  religion  an 
unquestioned  raising  of  a  certain  phase  of  the  problem.  A  solu- 
tion was  reached  in  a  way  not  greatly  different  from  that  followed 
by  Paul  and  his  associates,  namely,  the  merging  of  the  believer 
in  the  God  or  as  Paul  says,  in  Christ,  or  in  the  Spirit.  This  union 
was  not  a  transient  experience  like  that  advocated  by  some  mys- 
tics. This  was  no  doubt  due  to  the  incorporation  of  ethical  quali- 
ties as  an  indication  of  the  presence  of  the  Spirit.  "The  works 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  129 

of  the  flesh"  and  ''the  fruit  of  the  Spirit"  were  not  temporal 
qualities  but  an  abiding  character.104  Neo-Platonism  taught  a 
spiritual  union  with  God  which  was  unattested  by  any  thing  per- 
manent. It  was  supersensuous,  and  occasional.  Paul  seems  to 
have  had  such  an  experience  in  that  he  was  caught  up  into  heaven, 
but  he  did  not  set  great  store  by  this.105 

Before  considering  farther  Paul's  estimate  of  the  life  in 
Christ  and  its  apparent  conformity  to  the  type  of  salvation  which 
was  characteristic  of  Hellenistic  religious  thought,  it  will  be  well 
to  determine  what  were  the  chief  methods  by  which  the  end  could 
be  secured.  By  so  doing  the  interpretation  of  his  ideas  miay  be 
made  clearer.106 

Most  prominent  was  faith.  In  the  primitive  Christian  com- 
munity faith  nleant  little  more  than  an  identification  of  the  risen 
Jesus  with  the  apocalyptic  Messiah  and  confidence  in  his  coming 
redemptive  work  in  the  establishment  of  the  heavenly  kingdom. 
To  Paul,  faith  in  Christ  meant  all  that  it  had  meant  to  the  early 
church,  and  more.  Through  the  exercise  of  faith,  the  divine 
potency  which  was  in  Jesus  Christ  became  available.107  By  be- 
lieving on  him,  man  might  'be  transported  into  that  kind  of  life 
which  was  only  possible  ifor  those  who  were  no  longer  natural 
men.108 

It  is  in  this  connection  that  Paul's  umversalism  gains  its 
convincing  character.  Paul  might  have  argued  for  it  on  the 
basis  of  monotheism  as  suggested  by  Romans  3:29,  30,  but  he 
seems  not  to  have  placed  great  stress  upon  this  side  of  the  ques- 
tion. The  favor  of  God,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  law,  was 
logically  restricted  to  those  who  had  had  the  law  given  to  them. 
But  faith  had  no  national  limitations.109  All  men  might  avail 
themselves  of  the  Spirit  by  becoming  believing  sons  of  God. 

Of  considerable  prominence  also  were  the  rites  adopted  by  the 
Christians  to  increase  the  certainty  of  their  salvation.  It  is  an 
easy  thing  to  look  upon  these  ceremonies  as  purely  symbolic  acts 
intended  to  keep  alive  the  memory  of  those  sacred  events  which 
marked  the  entrance  of  God's  saving  interference  in  human 
affairs.  But  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  early  Christians  were 
far  more  literalistic  than  such  an  interpretation  would  imply. 
Among  the  Jews,  washings  and  feasts  were  viewed  as  require- 
ments of  God  set  forth  in  his  law.  Sym-bolism  may  have  been 
present  to  some  degree,  reaching  its  height  in  the  distorted  alle- 


130  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

gorism  of  the  Dispersion.  Among  the  Palestinians  legalism  was 
predominant.  The  first  Christians  doubtless  carried  over  some  of 
the  ceremonies  just  as  they  carried  over  the  law.  But  to  a  "  law- 
less" people  like  the  Greeks,  such  a  conception  was  valueless. 
The  rites  which  they  observed  were  not  connected  so  much  with 
the  will  of  the  deity  as  with  the  saeramentalism  with  which  their 
thought  was  filled.  The  immediate  question  arises  as  to  the  view 
adopted  by  such  Christians  as  Paul. 

The  Jews  themselves  were  accustomed  to  ideas  of  power  or 
virtue  residing  in  bodies  and  transmissible  by  contact.  Their 
tabu  laws  were  based  on  such  a  conception.  Sin  and  disease  were 
due  to  the  presence  of  demonic  powers,  escape  from  which  was 
only  possible  through  the  entrance  of  a  better  and  stronger  power. 
But  even  such  ideas  were  subsidiary  to  the  real  heart  of  Jewish 
religion,  fellowship  with  God.  In  answer  to  the  question  sug- 
gested above,  it  may  be  said  that  Paul  may  have  found  present 
in  Judaism  all  the  necessary  elements  for  his  ideas  about  baptism 
as  ^an  initiatory  rite  and  the  supper  as  an  act  of  fellowship.  But 
the  further  and  more  important  question  remains:  did  he  find 
in  Judaism  or  in  the  strictly  Christian  circle,  sufficient  stimulus 
to  prompt  him  to  develop  his  heritage  to  the  extent  that  he  did, 
or  did  he  find  it  in  his  Graeco-Roman  environment? 

Paul  does  not  speak  of  baptism  as  a  commandment  but  he 
does  speak  of  it  in  terms  of  cleansing  and  purification.  It  was 
a  quickening  experience,  in  which  by  ritual  imitation  the  believer 
was  identified  with  the  god  and  his  experience  of  salvation.110 
The  old  man,  one  of  sin,  was  made  new  by  his  assimilation  to 
deity.  Christ,  though  not  formally  equated  with  the  Savior  Gods 
o;f  the  mysteries,  was  nevertheless  comparable  from  the  stand- 
point of  function.  Likewise  the  rite  of  baptism,  though  related 
on  its  formal  side  to  Jewish  baptism,  on  its  functional  side  seems 
more  like  the  Graeco-Roman  ceremonies.  Certainly  at  a  later 
time,  the  Hellenistic  conception  prevailed.  It  did  so  because 
Christianity  was  operating  in  a  non-Jewish  world,  the  mem'bers  of 
which  brought  in  demands  for  a  qualitative  salvation  mediated 
by  contact  of  substances.  The  Christianity  of  Paul's  day  was 
beginning  even  then  to  move  out  into  this  world,  and  apparently 
was  seeking  to  interpret  the  message  of  the  Gospel  in  a  way  intel- 
ligible to  its  hearers. 

A  similar  history  for  the  supper  is  probable.    The  psychology 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  131 

of  primitive  religions  has  familiarized  us  with  the  idea  of  man 
actually  partaking  of  the  god  <and  thus  incorporating  his  divin- 
ity. A  renovated  life  was  in  this  way  made  possible.  The  thought 
is  indeed  crude,  but  the  likelihood  of  its  presence  cannot  be  easily 
dismissed  on  that  ground,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  even 
today  the  dogma  of  transubstantiation  is  a  vital  belief  in  the  re- 
ligious thought  of  many  who  are  on  a  higher  intellectual  plane 
than  the  typical  Christian  of  the  first  century.  The  crudity  of 
the  belief  in  that  day  probably  varied  as  it  does  today.  The  qual- 
ity of  deity  presented  in  the  feast  was  in  some  cases  "spiritual- 
ized", but  so  long  as  its  efficacy  was  conditioned  by  the  partici- 
pant's appropriation  and  assimilation  of  divine  substance,  it  is 
genetically  related  to  the  crudest  idea  of  the  transfer  of  deity 
through  a  feast. 

That  Paul  thought  of  the  Supper  as  a  memorial  meal  is 
beyond  denial,  as  one  may  see  in  I  Oor.  11:26:  "For  as  often  as 
ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  the  cup,  ye  proclaim  the  Lord's 
death  till  he  come".  Commemorative  meals  were  falmiliar  to  the 
Gentile  world  at  least,  and  the  Corinthians  to  whom  Paul  wrote 
concerning  the  proper  observance  of  the  meal,  would  not  have 
mistaken  his  reference.111  But  the  presence  of  this  interpreta- 
tion does  not  exhaust  the  meaning  of  the  rite.  Paul  speaks  of  the 
Supper  .as  a  communion,  a  partaking  of  Christ.112  He  is  even 
aware  of  its  similarity  to  the  meals  of  the  Gentiles.113  It  would 
seem  as  if  the  Corinthian  Christians  were  partaking  of  the  Lord 's 
Supper  as  well  as  the  sacramental  meals  of  other  deities11*  on  the 
theory  that  by  so  doing,  they  would  be  able  to  .appropriate  a 
greater  amount  of  divine  substance  and  potency,  a  practice  entire- 
ly compatible  with  the  Gentile  attitude  toward  the  different 
cults.  Paul  insists  that  the  difference  between  the  Gentile  and 
Christian  meals  rests  on  the  difference  between  the  deities  them- 
selves. He  acquiesces  in  the  Gentile  theory  of  the  meal  itself.  So 
far  as  it  can  be  seen  from  the  data  there  was  no  noteworthy 
difference  between  the  two  meals  and  the  results  expected  from 
each.  This  is  implied  in  Paul's  statement  that  some  were  weak 
and  sickly  and  not  a  few  sleep,  because  of  faulty  participation  in 
the  Christian  Supper.  An  opposite  effect  would  have  taken  place, 
had  the  Christians  rightly  eaten  of  the  meal. 

Other  methods  of  obtaining  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  were 
practiced  in  the  Christian  church,  such  as  fasting  and  prayer, 


132  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

laying  on  of  hands,  etc.,  but  these  were  available  for  special  en- 
dowments rather  than  for  the  life  that  was  "hid  in  Christ",  in 
which  every  believer  might  share.  They  did  not  receive  the  prom- 
inence that  faith,  baptism,  and  the  Supper  did,  for  what  reason 
it  would  be  difficult  to  say.  One  is  tempted  to  conclude  that  these 
three  items  were,  in  the  estimation  of  the  leaders  of  the  early 
church  among  the  Gentiles,  the  only  ones  which  were  capable  of 
interpreting  the  message  of  Christianity  to  the  Hellenistic  world 
in  such  a  way  as  to  make  clear  its  ability  to  save  men,  not  tem- 
porarily but  permanently  and  absolutely,  from  the  evil  quality  of 
the  surroundings  in  which  they  lived,  by  the  infusion  of  a  new, 
divine  essence. 

The  prominence  which  Paul  has  received  in  this  study  is  not 
a  recognition  of  him  as  the  sole  molder  of  religious  thought  dur- 
ing the  second  stage  of  Christianity's  development.  Others,  as 
Peter,  Apollos,  and  many  whose  activities  are  unrecorded,  doubt- 
less exerted  great  influence  at  this  same  time.  In  spite  of  the 
traditional  hostility  of  Paul  to  Peter,  it  is  probable  that  they 
worked  together  with  a,  fair  degree  of  understanding  and  with 
the  same  general  viewpoint.  It  is  purely  an  accident  of  history 
that  an  account  of  Paul's  work  has  been  preserved  for  us  in  a 
fairly  complete  form.  His  epistles,  .as  they  have  been  interpreted 
here,  are  not  isolated  records,  but  register  the  efforts  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  to  further  the  quest  for  salvation  among  those  to 
whom  the  original  message  was  not  familiar.  The  task  was  not 
simply  that  of  convincing  men  that  the  statements  about  Jesus 
and  his  helpfulness  were  true,  but  was  far  more  complex.  It 
would  be  more  accurate  to  say  that  the  task  was  that  of  answering 
the  question  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  in  such  a  w<ay  as 
to  be  intelligible  to  all  enquirers.  The  effect  of  suggestion  from 
Hellenistic  sources  will  be  made  more  clear  if  it  is  remembered 
that  Christianity  did  not  so  much  make  unsolicited  assertions  as 
answer  questions.  This  was  manifestly  what  Paul  was  continual- 
ly doing  and  the  effect  on  his  message  has  already  been  noted. 

It  is  obvious  that  Paul,  and,  if  we  may  deduce  from  his  ex- 
perience, the  advancing  preachers  of  his  time,  carried  with  them 
most  of  the  Jewish  heritage  regarding  the  way  by  which  one 
might  be  saved.  That  is,  they  retained  the  vital  beliefs  of  the 
truly  religious  and  uncompromising  Jewish  ethical  and  apocalyp- 
tic teaching  of  the  age.  There  were  some  who  clung  to  the  law, 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  133 

the  distinguishing  mark  of  a  narrow  faith.  But  they  are  not 
known  to  have  had  achieved  any  great  success.  The  preachers 
who  seem  to  have  had  the  greatest  success  were  not  hampered  by 
this  hindering  zeal  for  the  law.  Paul,  at  least,  laid  great  stress 
upon  faith,  and  by  so  doing  he  opened  at  once  a  door  of  entrance 
into  Gentile  life,  first,  because  he  preached  a  universal  message, 
•and,  second,  because  he  made  central  a  condition  which  they 
understood  and  could  very  well  'accept.  The  ceremonial  require- 
ments of  the  law,  at  best  only  temporal  and  unsatisfactory,  were 
dropped  as  of  no  great  consequence.  The  value  of  the  Jewish 
phases  of  the  message  was  not  inconsiderable  in  that  they  fortified 
the  feeling  of  assurance  of  a  final  salvation.  Nationalism  meant 
nothing  in  the  new  environment;  legalism  meant  nothing.  But 
the  promise  of  God's  favorable  verdict  must  have  buoyed  up  the 
sinking  hopes  of  many  who  were  in  despair. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  were  many  who  had  other 
wants  than  those  which  could  be  satisfied  by  the  Jewish  promise. 
The  assurance  of  future  salvation  was  nothing  apart  from  the 
actual  transformation  of  one 's  being  now.  It  was  not  a  matter  of 
doing  the  will  of  God  and  hearing  the  voice  of  acquittal.  However 
reassuring  such  a  message  may  have  been  to  some,  it  did  not  touch 
the  great  problem  of  Gentile  life;  and  no  Christian  propaganda 
could  have  succeeded  while  ignoring  this  problem.  It  was  in 
response  to  the  Hellenistic  enquiry  about  the  transforming  of 
man's  impure,  or  at  least,  incomplete  nature,  that  the  Christian 
teaching  received  its  greatest  development.  If  the  evidence  has 
been  accurately  weighed,  the  Gospel  was  made  to  promise  just 
such  .a,  cleansing  change  through  contact  with  pure  divinity  as 
the  Gentiles  longed  for. 

The  objection  has  been  raised  that  this  involves  the  intro- 
duction of  an  element  which  is  incongruous  with  the  genius  of 
early  Christianity.  It  is  quite  true  that  it  is  impossible  to  har- 
monize the  category  of  personal  relations,  which  is  typical  of 
Jewish  and  early  Christian  soteriology,  with  the  theory  of  man- 
ipulation o;f  forces  for  the  transformation  of  substances,  prevalent 
among  the  Hellenists.  But  they  do  not  need  to  be  adjusted  to 
one  another.  To  all  appearances,  the  Christian  quest  for  salva- 
tion, at  this  stage,  was  content  to  make  its  way,  giving  place  to 
both  points  of  view.  To  those  who  asked  for  such  assurance 
as  Jewish  faith  could  give,  the  teaching  of  God's  will,  his  king- 


134  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

dom,  and  his  judgment  were  sufficient.  To  those  who  were  op- 
pressed by  the  flesh  and  its  shortcomings  the  life  in  Christ  was  the 
only  possible  message.  The  two  points  of  view  did  not  call  for 
an  adjustment  to  each  other,  for  they  were  not  actually  in  con- 
flict. The  two  answers  were  perhaps  mutually  exclusive,  but 
each  answered  its  own  question,  and  this  was  the  test  of  its 
worth.  One  is  inclined  to  believe,  however,  that  as  Christianity 
went  imore  and  more  to  the  Gentiles  and  forsook  the  paths  of 
Judaism,  it  gave  greater  stress  to  the  point  of  view  most  con- 
sonant with  the  Hellenistic  thought. 

The  question  of  sources  is  only  indirectly  involved.  It  is 
probably  true  that  for  every  trace  of  a  belief  in  salvation  from 
the  power  of  the  earthly,  fleshly  life,  to  a  life  of  the  spirit,  made 
possible  by  the  merging  of  the  believer  with  the  divine  substance, 
there  may  be  discovered  analogous  but  undeveloped,  conceptions 
in  Jewish  literature.  Thus  on  the  formal  side  the  Christian  mis- 
sionaries to  the  Gentiles  may  conceivably  have  been  quite  inde- 
pendent as  to  sources,  from  the  typical  Hellenistic  belief.  But 
the  more  important  question  remains  as  to  the  reason  why  these 
ideas,  treated  as  negligible  by  the  Jews,  should  be  so  prominent 
in  Gentile  Christianity.  The  only  possible  answer  is  that  the 
expanding  mission  was  rapidly  becoming  established  in  a  society 
which  thought  chiefly  in  terms  of  dualism,  and  not  in  terms  of 
ethical  relationship  to  deity.  In  this  way  the  influence  of  Graeco- 
Roman  religion  on  Christianity  was  very  marked.  In  fact,  it 
can  hardly  be  supposed  that  the  preaching  of  the  Jewish  king- 
dom of  God  could  have  had  the  effect  among  the  Gentiles  that 
the  Gentile  message  of  spiritual  deliverance  had.  Men  were  not 
enquiring  as  earnestly  about  corporate  salvation  in  a  kingdom 
as  about  individual  salvation  apart  from  the  body  and  its  inherent 
weakness. 

In  so  far  as  the  two  types  of  belief  were  carried  along  by 
Christianity,  they  were  not  closely  articulated  with  each  other. 
Their  real  connection  was  with  the  demands  which  were  being 
made  by  seekers  after  salvation.  The  Christian  preachers  made 
their  contribution  at  this  point.  As  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of 
Paul,  and  his  predecessors,  the  new  facts  gathered  together  by 
Christian  experience  were  related  first  to  the  Jewish  heritage 
and  then  to  the  Hellenistic  point  of  view.  The  exigencies  of  each 
'social  complex  had  built  up  different  approaches  to  the  problem 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  135 

of  salvation  out  of  the  attitudes  and  queries  of  their  respective 
interests :  in  the  case  of  Judaism,  salvation  by  personal  relations 
within  a  group  toward  a  ruler-god;  in  the  case  of  the  Gentiles, 
salvation  by  means  of  individual  incorporation  within  the  pure 
being  'of  deity,  wherein  none  of  the  limitations  of  physical  life 
were  present.  Christianity  in  the  period  of  its  first  independent 
activity  among  the  Gentiles,  carried  over  much  of  its  Jewish 
soteriology,  but  also  developed  a  technique  of  salvation  like  that 
which  the  Hellenists  were  using  and  which  alone  they  could 
understand.  Otherwise  Christianity  would  have  been  helpless 
to  carry  out  the  mission  which  it  had  undertaken.  The  com- 
bined message  which  resulted  supplemented  the  work  supposed 
to  be  done  under  each  of  the  component  elements:  the  future 
salvation  of  the  Jewish  hope  was  realized  in  anticipation  by  the 
actual  attainment  of  a  partial  or  anticipatory  salvation  in  this 
life,  which  was  only  to  reach  its  culmination  at  the  judgment; 
while  the  present  salvation  of  the  Gentiles  was  made  ethically 
vital  by  the  introduction  of  tests  and  requirements  of  conduct, 
for  which  the  Graeco-Boanans  seem  to  have  made  no  adequate 
provision,  though  they  were  not  lacking  in  moral  sensitiveness. 
The  resulting  combination,  though  perhaps  inwardly  and  form- 
ally inconsistent,  was  outwardly  and  actually  quite  effective 
in  satisfying  many  who  had  long  been  engaged  in  a  fruitless 
quest  for  salvation. 


136  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE   TRANSFORMED    QUEST   OF   HELLENISTIC 
CHRISTIANITY. 

In  the  period  which  is  later  than  that  which  may  properly 
be  called  New  Testament  times,  the  propaganda  of  the  Christian 
movement  continued  to  adjust  itself  to  the  new  forces  which 
came  into  the  range  of  its  activities.  The  adjustments  which 
were  made  at  that  time  belong  to  this  study  as  far  as  their 
characteristics  are  concerned.  They  will  be  excluded,  however, 
except  for  a  short  sketch  which  will  suggest  some  of  the  problems 
which  arose  in  the  path  of  Christianity's  advance.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  transformation  of  the  movement  under  pressure  of 
Hellenistic  and  strictly  non-Jewish  interests  will  be  apparent  even 
in  as  short  a  survey  as  is  here  given. 

The  development  of  the  early  church  was  not  circumscribed 
by  fear  of  independent  judgment,  even  though  there  was  always 
present  a  reverent  respect  for  the  traditions  of  the  fathers.  We 
have  already  seen  how  certain  adaptations  were  made  in  the 
Christian  message  as  it  made  its  way  from  the  narrow  environ- 
ment of  Palestine  into  the  freer  competition  of  Graeco-Roman 
life.  The  variations  of  the  Christian  preaching  were  always 
conditioned  by  the  demands  placed  upon  it  by  those  who  listened 
and  later  accepted.  The  keen  anxiety  of  some  of  the  Palestinian 
Jews  for  the  appearance  of  the  kingdom,  prompted  them,  to  look 
for  some  guarantee  of  its  coming.  They  first  saw  in  Jesus'  resur- 
rection the  prophecy  of  their  salvation;  later  his  deeds  in  the 
flesh,  his  ancestry,  his  natal  credentials,  and  finally  his  divine, 
pre-existent  nature,  destroyed  all  doubt  as  to  the  salvation  that 
he  was  to  bring  to  man.  These  interpretations  were  not  for- 
mally forced  upon  the  world;  they  were  vitally  connected  with 
the  hopes  and  aspirations  that  were  kindled  in  human  hearts  by 
the  varied  experiences  through  which  men  were  passing. 

When  the  Christian  mission  fared  forth  into  the  Gentile 
world,  it  was  obliged  to  adopt  what  may  be  called  the  colonization 
method.  There  were  comparatively  few  laborers  in  the  field, 
and  resident  pastors  could  not  be  left  with  the  churches.  Paul 
engaged  in  an  absentee  pastorate  which  enabled  him  to  maintain 
some  oversight  over  a  number  of  churches.  So  long  as  congre- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  137 

gations  were  left  largely  to  themselves,  it  was  only  natural  that 
a  considerable  tincture  of  Hellenistic  religious  thought  should 
be  observable  in  their  religious  expressions,  or  that  Paul  should 
justify  the  claim  of  Christianity  on  the  basis  of  values  which  were 
everywhere  recognized  among  Gentiles. 

But  before  the  end  of  the  first  century  the  eager  missionary 
propaganda  was  supplemented  by  the  local  work  of  the  wor- 
shipping community.  Every  church  planted  by  a  travelling 
evangelist  became  a  center  from  which  radiated  lines  of  influence. 
This  brought  Christianity  into  a  still  closer  relationship  with 
Grentile  life  and  thought,  and  also  gave  an  opportunity  for  the 
development  of  variant  types  of  belief.  The  community  and  its 
interests  became  more  prominent  than  the  individual,  even  though 
he  was  a  strong  character.  Apparently  for  some  time  after  Paul, 
there  were  no  individuals  who  overshadowed  the  community  as 
he  had  done.  The  literature  of  this  period  is  community  litera- 
ture. The  names  of  apostolic  leaders  which  were  attached  to  the 
gospels  and  epistles,  were  later  validations  of  their  Christian 
authenticity,  rather  than  attestations  of  authorship. 

In  the  absence  of  comtmanding  personalities,  central  organi- 
zation, or  any  other  sure  means  of  control  and  uniformity,  certain 
results  are  to  be  expected.  There  was  less  tendency  toward 
similarity  in  beliefs.  Also  there  was  less  inclination  to  conform 
to  the  standards  set  by  former  leaders,  particularly  those  of 
Jewish  life,  though  in  this  connection  it  must  also  be  noted  that 
a  growing  apologetic  has  a  tendency  to  incorporate  elements 
from  the  past  in  order  to  indicate  the  genuineness  of  the  appeal. 
The  Gospels  show,  this  feature;  they  blend,  particularly  the 
Synoptics,  elements  from  different  periods  and  situations.  Their 
composite  character  is  the  very  thing  which  made  them  satis- 
factory in  communities  made  up  of  persons  from  widely  different 
social  and  religious  strata,  in  a  large  measure,  a  shifting  popu- 
lation, made  and  unmade  by  the  industrial  and  political  exigen- 
cies of  the  time. 

After  the  war  of  A.  D.  66-70,  there  could  no  longer  be  a 
formal  tie  between  Judaism  and  Christianity,  though  the  real 
break  had  occurred  a  number  of  years  earlier.  A  spirit  of  open 
hostility  was  engendered,  due  in  some  measure  at  least,  to  the 
confusion  of  identity  to  which  both  were  subjected  through  the 
failure  of  Romans  to  make  a  complimentary  distinction  between 


138  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

the  rival  faiths.  A  similar  hostility  arose  between  Christians 
and  Gentiles.  The  result  was  that  Christianity  took  its  place 
in  the  world  of  religions  with  its  own  message  of  salvation. 

This  independent  Christianity  at  an  early  time  was  known 
in  imost  of  the  Mediterranean  world.1  A  large  number  of  the 
churches  had  been  planted  under  the  supervision  of  Paul.  A 
large  number  also  must  have  been  the  result  of  the  activities  of 
other  evangelists,  for  little  if  any  of  the  Christian  literature  from 
the  latter  part  of  the  first  century  shows  a  close  dependence  on 
his  teachings.  Alexandria,  which  had  not  been  visited  by  Paul, 
was  nevertheless  a  prominent  Christian  center  and  had  great 
influence  upon  the  development  of  Christian  history.  Some 
differences  between  Paul 's  message  and  other  Christian  preaching 
may  have  been  the  result  of  failure  to  apprehend  his  real  mean- 
ing, but  all  divergences  can  not  be  thus  explained. 

One  of  the  chief  interests  of  the  age  was  that  of  exorcism 
and  healing.  Paul  had  not  paid  great  attention  to  it,  though 
he  was  a  believer  in  demonic  powers  like  all  of  his  contempo- 
raries.2 Belief  in  demons  as  the  cause  of  sickness  and  the 
instigators  of  sin  was  by  no  means  confined  to  Christians  and 
Jews.  Even  the  highly  educated  did  not  deny  their  existence. 
Among  the  people  of  simpler  education  and  position  in  life, 
religion  was  largely  made  up  of  what  is  derogatorily  called 
superstition.  While  the  belief  is  of  ancient  origin,  it  grew  rap- 
idly after  the  opening  of  the  Christian  era  and  perhaps  only 
reached  its  height  after  the  first  century.  The  restriction  of 
demons  within  the  field  of  evil  had  a  tendency  to  make  prominent 
by  contrast  what  was  already  present  and  vital.  In  the  minds 
of  Christians  all  demons  were  bad,  whereas  the  Greeks  had  earlier 
attributed  to  them  as  a  class,  a  neutral  character. 

According  to  the  gospel  tradition,  part  of  the  mission  of 
Jesus  on  earth  was  that  of  successfully  opposing  the  prince  of 
the  demons  and  his  legions.  Matthew's  account  of  the  charge 
of  the  Pharisees  that  Jesus  cast  out  demons  by  Beelzebub,  makes 
Jesus  speak  of  his  work  thus:  "How  can  one  enter  the  house 
of  the  strong  man,  and  spoil  his  goods,  except  he  first  bind  the 
strong  man  ?  And  then  he  will  spoil  his  house. '  '3  Whatever  may 
be  said  about  the  probability  of  Jesus  having  so  interpreted  his 
task  in  this  way,  it  is  certain  that  no  comjmunity  would  have 
preserved  this  and  many  other  statements  reflecting  a  similar 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  139 

point  of  view,  if  it  had  not  believed  profoundly  in  the  power  of 
Jesus  to  save  from  demons,  and  to  overcome  the  prince  of 
demons.  The  conviction  was  further  expanded  by  saying  that 
exorcism  and  healing  might  be  effected  through  the  power  of 
his  name.4  Indeed  so  powerful  and  automatic  was  the  name 
of  Jesus,  that  its  mere  use,  apart  from  belief,  was  sufficient  to 
achieve  the  desired  end.  A  saying  of  Jesus  places  some  whom 
he  did  not  know  and  whom  he  would  repudiate  at  the  end, 
among  those  who  effectively  cast  out  demons  in  his  name.5  The 
attack  of  the  delmon  upon  those  strolling  Jewish  exorcists  who 
used  the  name  of  Jesus,  was  cited  by  the  author  of  Acts  as  an 
object  lesson.6  However  the  power  of  the  name  was  undisputed. 

Belief  in  exorcism  constituted  a  theory  of  salvation  from 
demonic  powers.  It  continued  throughout  the  subsequent  history 
of  the  church,  and  is  toy  no  means  unknown  today  among  certain 
classes  of  people.  Prom  the  middle  of  the  second  century, 
exorcism  was  everywhere  recognized,  in  many  instances  by  the 
appointment  of  officials  whose  duties  were  to  perform  this 
function  for  the  church.  Justin  Martyr  contended  that  the 
ability  of  Christians  of  his  day  to  heal  demoniacs  was  evidence 
of  the  mission  of  Jesus  to  earth.  It  would  seem  from  his  state- 
ment that  exorcism  was  very  prominent.7  After  the  rise  of 
schism  in  the  church,  one  of  the  (most  serious  charges  brought 
against  the  Christian  character  of  a  sect  was  its  reputel  inability 
to  cast  out  demons.8 

Tertullian  abandoned  himself  to  a  complete  acceptance  of 
demonology.  He  recognized  that  belief  in  demons  was  wide- 
spread and  seems  to  justify  his  own  belief  by  that  of  prominent 
thinkers  of  the  past.  Philosophers  and  poets  acknowledged 
demons,  not  to  mention  magicians.  He  attempted  to  give  a 
careful  statement  of  the  whole  theory  of  demonology  and  of  its 
importance  in  human  experience,  particularly  in  connection  with 
Christianity.9  Origen,  also,  and  other  Christians,  (particularly 
Tatian),10  interpret  the  function  of  Christianity  very  largely  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  casting  out  of  demonic  powers.11 

It  is  at  once  evident  that  sometime  in  the  early  period  of 
Christian  history,  salvation  was  enriched  and  given  greater 
content  by  the  incorporation  of  exorcism.  It  is  not  clear  why 
Paul  has  placed  comparatively  little  emphasis  on  demons  -and 
their  connection  with  human  experience.  It  is  possible  that  the 


140  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

emphasis  he  gave  to  the  life  in  Christ  as  contrasted  with  the  life 
in  sinful  flesh  left  no  place  for  such  a  discussion.  But  this  does 
not  explain  why  he  did  not  oppose  demonology  and  its  associated 
beliefs,  if  he  met  it  among  the  people  with  whom  he  worked.12 
That  there  was  no  belief  in  demons  in  all  the  cities  which  Paul 
visited  can  hardly  be  asserted,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
Synoptic  Gospels  of  only  a  few  years  later  were  widely  accepted 
in  the  same  places  where  he  had  preached.  That  the  Fourth 
Gospel  should  not  give  any  prominence  to  demonology  is  not 
strange.  It  was  concerned  with  a  more  philosophic  problem,  iand 
one  in  which  the  popular  belief  in  demons  did  not  find  a  necessary 
place. 

Salvation  from  demons  does  not  belong  to  any  one  people 
or  religion.  It  has  enough  plasticity  to  make  it  compatible  with 
any  faith  adhered  to  by  a  somewhat  uncritical  people.  While 
generally  thought  of  as  being  characteristic  of  the  humbler  mem- 
bers of  society,  it  has  been  accepted  by  many  of  unquestioned 
culture  and  distrust  of  popular  superstition.  Its  prevalence 
among  such  widely  divergent  classes  of  people  indicates  its 
importance  in  their  experience.  Whatever  'may  have  been  its 
therapeutic  value,  judged  by  modern  scientific  standards,  as  a 
staying  force  in  religious  experience  it  was  of  great  value.  In 
Christianity,  it  served  chiefly  to  enrich  and  popularize  the  mean- 
ing of  Christ  in  the  life  of  men. 

The  inner  secret  which  made  this  kind  of  salvation  of  great 
meaning  to  men  is  difficult  to  ascertain.  It  had  a  certain  kinship 
with  the  typical  religions  which  were  based  on  the  theory  of 
nature  and  essence,  for  the  body  might  be  thought  of  as  an  empty 
house,  either  made  holy  by  the  presence  of  good  spirits,  or  impure 
by  the  presence  of  demons.13  The  mental  disorders  which  were 
attributed  to  the  presence  of  evil  spirits  gave  ground  for  a  vivid 
picturing  of  an  evil  entity  of  a  slightly  personalized  character, 
contaminating  the  mind  and  obstructing  it  in  its  proper  function. 
Other  diseases  were  dealt  with  in  the  same  way,  even  though 
demons  were  not  directly  connected  with  the  situation.  It  was 
believed  that  power  was  transferred  from  one  person  to  another, 
but  not  power  that  was  necessarily  dependent  upon  the  volitional 
exercise  of  personality.  One  of  the  clearest  instances  of  this 
mechanical  operation  of  power  is  to  be  seen  in  the  healing  of  the 
woman  with  an  issue  of  blood.14  She  was  conscious  that  mere 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  141 

contact  with  the  clothing  would  heal  her.  And  when  this 
occurred,  "straightway  Jesus,  perceiving  in  himself  that  the 
power  proceeding  from  him  had  gone  forth,  turned  him  about 
in  the  crowd  and  said,  'Who  touched  my  garments?'  '  The 
person  of  Jesus  was  thought  of  as  charged  with  a  dynamic 
potency  which  might  be  mechanically  transmitted  to  another. 
That  this  incident  was  not  isolated  is  attested  by  other  passages 
which  summarize  what  seems  to  'have  been  customary.15  Simi- 
larly the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  manifested  by  power.16 

The  theory  of  demon-possession  as  an  explanation  of  various 
disturbances  in  human  affairs  and  of  exorcism  as  its  cure  appears 
to  be  due  to  a  slight  personalization  of  the  force  or  power  which 
Was  thought  by  some  to  be  eradicable  only  by  the  introduction 
of  a  counter  force.  The  whole  system  into  which  these 
elements  were  wrought  was  of  a  sufficiently  neutral  character  as 
regards  the  two  main  types  of  soteriology  (redemption  by  per- 
sonal attitudes  and  by  contact  of  substances)  to  permit  its  exist- 
ence in  the  faith  of  any  people,  however  much  it  was  opposed 
by  .official  religion.  Its  acceptance  as  a  popular  belief  made  it 
persist,  in  spite  of  occasional  attempt  to  destroy  it,  at  all  times 
among  all  peoples.  Attempts  to  differentiate  between  various 
phases  of  demon  activity  (such  as  possession  more  or  less  per- 
sonalized, or  demonic  power  conceived  of  as  operating  mechanic- 
ally) are  not  effective  in  making  distinctions  of  any  great 
significance.  The  belief  as  a  whole  goes  back  to  very  primitive 
origins  from  which  it  has  never  made  significant  advance.  It  is 
racial,  and  not  characteristic  of  any  one  people,  though  its 
variations  are  traceable  to  the  tendencies  of  any  given  society 
as  reflected  in  their  ideas  of  control.  However,  its  existence 
chiefly  as  a  belief  of  the  common  people,  and  therefore  not  sharply 
defined,  makes  arbitrary  distinctions  very  unsatisfactory. 

Christianity,  from  the  time  >of  the  composition  of  the  gospels, 
at  least,  was  interested  in  saving  men  from  demonic  power,  and 
Jesus,  the  Savior,  was  either  thought  of  as  personally  leading 
the  forces  of  good  in  mortal  combat  with  the  demons,  or  as 
possessing  some  fluid  quality  which  flowed  from  his  person  and 
filled  the  possessed  or  diseased  one  with  its  virtue.  The  latter 
view  is  less  prominent  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  particularly  Mark, 
where  Jesus  is  represented  as  discharging  no  small  part  of  his 
function  as  champion  of  'mankind  against  the  hosts  of  evil.  An 


142  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

amplification  of  this  is  seen  in  the  belief  in  guardian  angels  who 
were  assigned  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  some  particular  indi- 
vidual.17 This  belief  was  carried  on  into  Christianity,  e.  g.,  by 
Hermas,18  who  says  that  each  man  is  attended  by  two  angels  who 
strive  for  mastery  over  him,  and  advises  that  only  the  angel 
of  righteousness  be  trusted.  So  far  as  one  can  judge  from  the 
evidence,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  desire  for  salvation  from 
demonic  power  was  influenced  by  Greek  or  Hebrew  thought 
as  such.  It  is  characteristic,  rather,  of  a  primitive  type  of  life, 
and  reflects  those  interests  which  persevere  even  through  long 
periods  of  culture.  The  influx  of  foreign  people  from  the  lower 
social  strata  in  the  early  years  of  the  Roman  Empire  was  no 
doubt  largely  responsible  for  the  prevalence  of  this  kind  of 
salvation  hope. 

Another  phase  of  the  hope  of  salvation  which  had  been 
inherited  from  primitive  Christianity  and  from  Judaism,  was 
that  involved  in  the  establishment  of  the  heavenly  kingdom.  The 
Christians  had  never  entertained  the  radical  political  hopes  which 
had  allured  some  of  the  Jews  into  dangerous  enterprises.  They 
looked  for  no  sword-wrought  redemption  which  would  give  them 
the  mastery  of  the  world.  However,  they  were  not  entirely  freed 
from  earthly  entanglements.  The  disquieting  element  in  their 
experience  was,  in  large  'measure,  the  political  ills  with  which 
they  were  afflicted.  The  persecutions  which  the  Christians  have 
been  supposed  to  have  suffered,  were  for  the  most  part  local  and 
entirely  lacking  in  systematic  organization.  Yet  on  account  of 
religious  prejudices  they  were  sufficient  to  engender  a  great  deal 
of  bitterness  toward  the  Roman  government.  Paul,  much  of 
whose  work  fell  within  the  happier  years  of  Nero 's  reign,  himself 
had  no  polemic  (against  Rome.  In  fact  he  was  proud  of  his  citi- 
zenship and  appealed  to  Caesar,  as  his  subject,  when  accused  by 
his  countrymen.  He  advised  obedience  and  submission  to  govern- 
ment because  it  was  ' '  ordained  of  God. '  '19  He  did  not  advocate 
the  destruction  of  recognized  social  institutions,  such  as  slavery, 
except  by  saying  in  an  intangible  way,  that  in  Christ  there  is 
neither  Greek  nor  Jew.20  But  both  by  the  expectation  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  by  the  leveling  down  of  all  social  and  racial 
distinctions  through  the  life  in  Christ,  he  placed  a  very  secondary 
importance  upon  the  function  of  government  in  ultimately  curing 
the  ills  of  mankind. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  143 

At  a  later  time,  local  encounters  with,  authorities  produced 
a  heightened  feeling  of  distrust  toward  the  political  organization 
of  Rome.  The  Apocalypse  of  John  is  a  veritable  Christian  hymn 
of  hate  as  far  as  the  government  is  concerned.  The  great  desire 
of  the  author  was  that  salvation  from  the  tyranny  of  Rome  might 
be  secured  through  the  speedy  coming  of  Christ  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  heaven  sent  kingdom.  The  outlook  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse is  decidedly  Jewish.  Sensuous  views  of  the  kingdom  are 
to  be  found  in  such  Christian  literature  of  a  later  time  as  was 
untouched  by  the  milder  Hellenistic  spirit.21 

There  was,  however,  a  strong  tendency  to  soften  the  harsh- 
ness which  Jewish  particularism  had  created  in  the  apoealyctic 
hope.  To  do  so  meant  the  elimination  of  the  genuine  apocalyptic 
qualities,  though  the  symbolism  of  the  kingdom  was  retained. 
The  contrast  between  the  ordinary  conception  of  the  kingdom 
and  that  which  was  entertained  by  non-Jewish  religion  is  seen 
in  the  Fourth  Gospel.22  The  dialog  between  Pilate  and  Jesus  was 
intended  to  bring  out  the  difference  between  the  two  kingdoms 
which  they  represented.  Jesus  was  king  of  truth;  Pilate,  of  the 
kingdom  of  force.  The  kingdom  of  truth  was  in  the  world  but 
not  of  the  world.23  The  kingdom  of  force  was  of  the  world. 
The  Fourth  Gospel  was  intended  to  bring  out  the  inferior  char- 
acter of  the  earthly  kingdom,  but  not  by  comparing  it  with  an 
apocalyptic  kingdom  such  as  the  Jews  and  Jewish-Christians 
were  wont  to  expect.24  The  real  comparison  was  between  the 
kingdom  of  force  and  the  kingdom  of  quiet,  pervasive  truth.  The 
Messiah,  whom  the  Jews  awaited,  was  not  the  one  who  was  to 
usher  in  this  kingdom  of  truth.  Jesus  was  superior  to  him.25 
His  realm  was  world  wide  in  its  scope.  Yet  Jesus  did  not  go  to 
the  Gentiles.  Hence  the  Fourth  Gospel  tells  of  Greeks  coming  to 
Jesus,  who  was  acknowledged  by  God's  voice  as  they  stood  by. 
Jesus  in  effect  stated  that  he  could  not  in  person  go  to  all  the 
world,  but  that  through  his  death  all  men  would  be  drawn  to 
him.26  He  was  not  the  shepherd  of  the  Jews  alone,  but  of  all.27 

There  is,  in  John,  a  persistent  plea  for  universality  which  is 
not  so  consistently  presented  in  the  other  gospels  and  not  more 
so  in  Paul.  Even  the  Baptist  did  not  announce,  according  to  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  the  Messianic  kingdom  of  God,  but  ''the  Lamb 
of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  Nor  did  God 
have  any  favorites  in  the  scheme  of  redemption,  for  He  "so  loved 


144  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  on  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."28 

On  the  formal  side,  there  were,  then,  two  tendencies  of 
thought:  one,  a  development  and  refinement  of  the  Messianic 
kingdom  for  which  there  was  keen  anticipation,  (members  were 
elected  out  of  this  world,  and  while  here  held  "citizenship  in 
heaven,"  awaiting  the  coming  of  Christ29) ;  the  other,  more  specu- 
lative and  more  mystical,  and  not  patterned  after  the  material- 
istic forms  of  earthly  experience.  The  conflict  between  these  two 
ideals  continued  for  no  short  period  of  time.  The  victory  was 
officially  lost  by  apocalypticism  through  the  repeated  delays  in 
the  coming  of  the  kingdom  and  the  necessity  which  intelligent 
Christians  faced  of  seeking  salvation  in  the  present. 

Same  of  the  changes  which  took  place  in  minor  phases  of  the 
kingdom  idea  may  well  ;be  noted  in  this  connection. 

The  influence  of  Paul  had  been  to  remove  law  and  substitute 
faith  >as  the  means  by  which  man  might  avail  himself  of  salvation, 
But  not  all  followed  his  lead.  He  acknowledged  that  formerly 
the  Jews  had  been  under  a  covenant  and  were  obliged  to  obey 
the  law,  but  the  new  relationship  with  God  was  different.  It 
was  a  life  in  the  Spirit  in  which  law  did  not  operate.  The  author 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  sees  in  the  new  program  of  Chris- 
tianity, not  an  arrangement  different  from  the  old,  but  one  that 
was  superior.  Salvation  is  still  the  result  of  doing  the  will  of 
God  according  to  a  recognized  and  established  relationship.30 
This  new  covenant  was  legally  sealed  by  the  death  of  Christ  as 
a  sacrifice.31  Jesus,  moreover,  was  the  pattern  of  right  living 
and  thus  the  gateway  to  salvation.  Indeed,  He  even  intercedes 
for  those  who  are  drawn  by  His  example,  and  saves  "to  the 
uttermost."32  The  author  of  Hebrews  thinks  of  mankind  as  still 
under  legal  relationship  to  God,  but  he  devotes  himself  to  the 
practical  task  of  inspiring  men  to  a  life  like  that  of  Christ,  that 
he,  the  high  priest  who  is  beside  God,  may  intercede  for  the 
salvation  of  all.  He  did  not  "build  a  hedge  about  the  law." 

The  Epistle  of  James  also  interprets  the  Christian  life  in 
tennis  of  law,  though  he  calls  it  a  law  of  liberty,  a  royal  law.33 
"Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  our  God  and  Father  is  this, 
to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep 
oneself  upspotted  from  the  world."34 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  145 

It  would  seem  that  the  idea  of  legal  observances,  which 
Judaism  had  employed  so  strenuously  in  connection  with  the 
expected  appearance  of  the  kingdom,  was  broadened  and  vitalized 
by  many  Christians  for  whom  the  urgency  of  immediate  other- 
worldly salvation  had  been  lost.  Among  the  Jews,  and  appar- 
ently among  the  earliest  Christians,  law  and  kingdom  were 
inseparable ;  and  the  law  was  kept  as  such  with  a  view  to 
hastening  the  day  of  the  Lord.  But  after  Christianity  had 
detached  itself  from  strictly  Jewish  surroundings,  it  became 
possible  to  develop  an  attitude  toward  the  law  which  was  different 
from  the  older  conception,  while  still  holding  to  the  hope  of  the 
kingdom.  The  Lord  would  appear  at  his  own  pleasure,  ''like  a 
thief  in  the  night, ' '  and  taking  all  men  unaware.  Christians  were 
conscious  of  a  disparity  between  the  old  rejected  law  and  the 
new  which  they  w^ere  willing  to  obey.  Apparently  the  new  law 
had  a  more  ethical  significance  than  many  of  the  Jewish  zealots 
had  seen  in  the  old.  In  the  Graeco-Rpman  world,  there  was  a 
growing  sense  of  ethical  values  and  of  obligation  to  duty.  Dis- 
courses on  these  subjects  were  heard  in  every  market  place,  in 
every  public  square,  and  in  every  school.  Even  the  Gentiles  saw 
in  the  moral  law,  the  law  of  God,  the  rewards  and  penalties  of 
which  were  surely  to  be  meted  out. 

The  picture  of  the  kingdom  was  prominent  among  the  Chris- 
tians for  a  long  time  and  yet  it  seems  progressively  to  have  lost 
its  distinctness  through  the  introduction  of  practical  problems. 
In  proportion  as  this  world  became  attractive  or  workable,  the 
desire  to  escape  was  lessened,  and  the  men  settled  down  to  the 
life  of  duty,  hoping  still  for  a  future  salvation,  but  apart  from 
the  violent  realisim  of  apocalypticism,  and  the  formal  observance 
of  a  fixed  and  artificial  law. 

In  so  far  as  the  conception  of  law  and  kingdom  was  retained, 
salvation  was  dependent  upon  personal  relations  and  attitudes. 
In  the  Graeco-Roman  life,  in  which  Christianity  first  labored, 
there  was  little  feeling  for  social  control  through  the  exercise 
of  legal  authority  on  account  of  the  instability  of  governments. 
But  all  the  while  the  Roman  Empire  was  building  up  its  power 
and  gradually  amalgamating  all  the  elements  within  it.  Accom- 
panying this  there  was  an  increasing  respect  for  law  and  a  grow- 
ing allegiance  to  the  state.  Under  such  conditions,  it  is  not 
strange  to  see  in  the  field  of  religion,  (the  mirror  of  all  social 


146  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

interests),  a  regard  for  law  not  based  on  the  older  Jewish  feeling, 
but  upon  the  dignity  of  Roman  citizenship,  even  among  those 
who  expected  the  world  order  finally  to  be  set  aside. 

Aside  from  the  unquestioned  phases  of  the  Christian  quest 
for  salvation  which  are  to  be  traced  back  to  Jewish  and  primitive 
Christian  sources,  there  are  to  be  noted  certain  advances  in  the 
adaptation  of  the  message  to  the  Gentile  world  beyond  what  Paul 
made  or  even  anticipated.  That  such  a  step  should  be  taken 
was  entirely  consistent  with  the  previous  history  of  the  move- 
ment. There  was  as  yet  no  background  of  history  to  give  sacred- 
ness  to  forms.  The  gospel  was  eagerly  seeking  support  and 
recognition  among  the  people  with  whom  it  was  coming  into 
contact,  while  they  were  in  turn  seeking  some  solution  for  their 
religious  problems.  We  have  seen  how  in  its  earliest  years  it 
promised  salvation  on  the  basis  of  conduct  within  a  group  in 
which  the  individual  received  his  reward  in  return  for  allegiance 
and  proper  service  rendered  to  God ;  also  how  later  the  demands 
of  new  converts  called  forth  the  promise  of  salvation  through  a 
transformed  life.  This  latter  development  was  destined  to  go 
even  farther  in  consequence  of  a  more  intimate  contact  with  the 
speculation  of  the  Hellenistic  world.35 

Paul  was  apparently  less  impressed  by  the  speculative  inter- 
est than  by  the  picturesque  qualities  of  mystery  religion.  Yet 
he  was  aw^are  of  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  Christianity  by 
the  wisdom  of  this  world.  He  confessed  that  he  lacked  "excel- 
lency of  speech  or  of  wisdom,"36  but  professed  to  have  a  revealed 
wisdom,  a  wisdom  in  a  mystery  which  was  not  of  this  world.  The 
wisdom  which  the  Christian  might  have  was  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit,  as  was  the  gift  of  healing.37 

But  it  is  in  the  Johannine  literature  that  the  earliest  and 
most  pronounced  reaction  to  speculative  thought  is  to  be  clearly 
seen.  At  the  time  of  the  writing  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  the 
Gnostic  heresies  had  not  rent  the  church,  though  Gnosticism  was 
present  in  the  world.  The  fantastic  beliefs  which  the  Gnostics 
brought  forth  were  created  by  an  earnest  desire  to  find  salvation. 
Apparently  no  very  elaborate  schemes  were  evolved  until  near 
the  time  of  the  heresies  within  the  church.  Gnosticism  being 
syncretistic,  readily  appropriated  such  elements  of  the  Christian 
message  as  could  be  used  to  strengthen  their  position.  Starting 
with  the  desire  for  salvation,  the  Gnostics  evolved  a  pictorial 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  147 

dualism,  as  contrasted  with  the  logical  dualism,  of  Stoicism  and 
other  philosophies.  The  problem  on  its  speculative  side  was  to 
explain  the  origin  of  evil  while  maintaining  the  purity  of  God, 
and  on  the  practical  side,  to  provide  a  means  by  which  man 
might  be  saved  from  evil.  The  first  was  achieved  by  the  adoption 
of  a  mythological  representation  of  the  process  of  creation,  and 
the  second  by  the  appropriation  of  divine  aid  through  mystical 
knowledge  or  wisdom. 

The  mythologies  of  Gnosticism  generally  represented  a  pure, 
unapproachable  being  as  the  ultimate  power  in  the  universe.  A 
series  of  emanations  resulted  in  a  subordinate  power  who  created 
the  world  and  all  its  evil.  Thus  while  God  is  the  ruler  of  the 
universe,  he  is  not  himself  the  creator  of  evil.38 

The  logos  doctrine  was  one  of  the  most  popular  theories 
of  the  ancient  world.  Aside  from  its  purely  metaphysical  value, 
it  was  widely  disseminated  as  a  means  of  supporting  various 
practical  religious  enterprises.  Stoicism  employed  it,  and  was 
transformed  into  an  effective  religious  mission,  though  a  philos- 
ophy in  form.  Philo  and  the  author  of  IV  Maccabees  read  the 
logos  theory  into  Jewish  religion  and  thereby  added  to  the 
dignity  and  power  of  their  faith.  The  author  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel,  though  not  directly  influenced  by  any  known  person  or 
school,  successfully  employed  the  logos  in  connection  with  other 
theories  to  give  convincing  proof  of  the  divine  nature  of  the 
Christian  savior.  The  logos  doctrine  was  not  outwardly  a  soteri- 
ology,  but  it  was  used  more  in  connection  with  questions  of 
salvation,  than  with  questions  of  pure  metaphysics.  Both  ortho- 
dox and  heterodox  gave  it  great  prominence. 

The  soteriology  of  Gnosticism,  like  the  mythology,  made  use 
of  picturesque  features.  A  special  emanation  was  sent  out  from 
God  and  came  to  earth  in  the  form  of  Jesus.  While  here  he 
imparted  saving  gnosis  to  man,  who  was  entangled  in  the  material 
world,  and  waged  a  victorious  battle  against  the  demiurge, 
though  through  the  latter 's  activity  the  Savior  was  apparently 
put  to  death.  But,  so  the  mythology  runs,  the  real  Christ  was 
only  dwelling  temporarily  in  the  flesh  and  before  the  crucifixion 
departed,  leaving  in  man's  possession  the  mystical  secret  of 
divine  knowledge  by  which  he  might  be  saved.  Just  as  Jesus 
was  "raised,"  so  man  without  waiting  for  death  might  enter 


148  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

into  the  life  of  the  resurrection  through  the  gateway  of  gnosis. 
He  would  be  illuminated  by  the  revelation.39 

There  were  certain  phases  of  the  gnostic  faith  which  Chris- 
tians of  the  more  orthodox  type  could  not  endure,  and  prominent 
among  these  was  the  doeetic  interpretation  of  Christ's  death. 
John  places  great  stress  upon  the  character  <of  Jesus'  resurrec- 
tion body,40  besides  asserting  that  Jesus  came  in  the  flesh,41  <and 
lived  a  life  in  the  flesh.  Ignatius,  also,  was  obliged  to  combat 
the  docetic  tendencies  within  the  church.42  Similarly,  Irenaeus 
opposed  Gnotsicism  when  it  had  became  organized  and  threat- 
ened to  overthrow  the  traditional  beliefs  of  Christianity.43 

But  in  spite  of  the  bitter  opposition  to  this  phase  of  thought, 
Christianity  did  not  keep  itself  free  from  its  touch.  The  Fourth 
Gospel  makes  knowledge  essential  and  central  in  the  scheme  of 
redemption.  "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  eternal  life.''44 
"Ye  shall  know  the  truth  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."45 
In  fact  there  are  a  number  of  elements  in  the  Johannine  account 
which  relate  it  to  the  Gnostic  type  of  thought.  The  Jesus  of  the 
flesh  was  -also  the  eternal  Logos  through  whom  the  world  was 
made.40  The  judgment  was  not  placed  in  the  future  as  in  the 
Jewish  scheme,47  and  death  was  conquered  immediately  through 
belief,48  as  in  Gnosticism.49 

Gnosticism  can  not  be  dismissed  because  of  the  absurdity  of 
its  system.  It  was  a  genuine  attempt  to  find  salvation.  And  as 
a  quest  it  came  to  Christianity  in  search  of  .assurance.  While  it 
was  overthrown  by  the  church  (and  incidentally  by  its  oppo- 
sition, it  greatly  strengthened  the  church),  it  nevertheless  influ- 
enced the  Christian  message  by  presenting  very  urgent  demands 
from  -the  hearts  of  men.  Christianity  furnished  it  with  a  body 
of  literature  and  traditions,  from  which  it  gathered  many 
legendary  and  historical  accounts  about  which  it  could  build  its 
speculative  system.  In  return,  but  not  as  a  free  gift,  Gnosticism 
brought  about  a  sharper  definition  of  the  orthodox  Christian 
point  of  view. 

The  interest  which  Gnosticism  and  Gnostic  Christianity 
fostered  was  the  metaphysical  interest.  Salvation  was  guaran- 
teed by  the  fact  that  the  Savior  was  of  divine  nature;  he  was 
the  Logos.  After  the  performance  of  his  dramatic  task,  he 
abode  among  men  as  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  the  Comforter,  in  a 
kingdom  in  this  world,  but  not  of  it,  the  subjects  of  which  were 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  149 

also  not  of  this  world.  In  so  far  as  Christianity  was  influenced 
by  this  movement,  it  was  led  still  farther  in  the  direction  of  a 
salvation  made  possible  by  the  transference  of  divine  potency 
into  human  experience.  At  bottom,  this  had  a  tendency  to  over- 
throw ethical  considerations,  but  in  actual  practice  the  heritage 
from  other  sources  was  sufficiently  vital  and  the  practical  con- 
siderations sufficiently  urgent  to  maintain  a  proper  balance. 

The  intellectual  acumen  of  the  Christian  leaders  was  probably 
greatly  increased  by  their  conflict  with  the  Gnostic  speculation. 
Certainly  at  the  middle  of  the  second  century  and  after,  philoso- 
phy had  a  rank  which  it  had  not  hitherto  enjoyed  among  Chris- 
tians. The  earlier  statements  about  salvation  were  universalized 
and  made  dignifie'd  in  comparisan  with  the  great  systems  of  the 
past,50  but,  in  actual  fact,  Christian  ideas  'of  salvation  were  not 
changed  or  developed  as  radically  from  this  source  as  by  con- 
ceptions of  a  more  humble  character  which  were  capable  of 
being  put  into  tangible  form  for  the  average  person. 

As  has  been  shown  in  this  discussion,  the  typically  Graeco- 
Roman  belief  in  redemption  implied  a  transfer  of  power,  not 
ethically  conditioned,  by  which  the  evil,  from  which  one  wished 
to  be  saved,  was  expelled.  (The  explanation  of  the  fact  that 
this  was  characteristic  of  Graeco-Roman  life  need  not  be  dis- 
cussed here.  Nor  are  ultimate  origins  of  great  importance.) 
Other  beliefs  did  flourish  from  time  to  time,  it  is  true,  but  never 
to  the  extent  that  they  became  typical.  This  general  belief  in 
the  form  of  sacramentalism  entered  the  church  and  finally  dom- 
inated the  Christian  idea  of  salvation.  We  have  seen  that  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper  were  in  Paul  tinged  with  the  feeling  of 
the  mystery  religions,  though  there  was  no  formal  connection. 
The  author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  evidently  attaches  some  special 
significance  to  the  sacramental  power  of  the  baptismal  water, 
in  his  emphasis  on  birth  of  water  and  spirit,51  and  the  mingling 
of  water  and  blood  from  the  wound  in  Jesus'  side.52  Sacra- 
mentalism in  the  church  is  also  suggested  by  John's  account  of 
Jesus'  discourse  on  the  bread  of  life.53 

Later  Christian  teachers  gave  the  rites  of  the  church  an 
unmistakable  sacramental  character.  Ignatius  hints  at  sacra- 
mentalism when  he  says:  "Ye  are  initiated  into  the  mysteries 
of  the  Gospel  with  Paul."54  His  meaning  is  clear  when  he  says 
to  the  Romans ,55  "I  desire  the  bread  of  God  .  .  .  which  is  the 


150  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

flesh  of  Christ;  .  .  .  and  I  desire  the  drink  of  God,  namely 
his  blood,  which  is  incorruptible  love  and  eternal  life."  Justin 
Martyr  refers  to  baptism  as  an  act  <of  regeneration.56  Irenaeus 
also  attributes  to  baptism  a  regenerative  value.57  In  one  place,58 
he  speaks  at  considerable  length  about  the  "nourishing"  power 
of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  body  of  Jesus  had  been  real  flesh, 
and  by  its  resurrection  had  gained  the  potency  of  making  the 
flesh  of  men  immortal  through  the  Eucharist.  The  Lord's  Supper 
was  food  of  immortality. 

The  resurrection  interest  was  very  keen  among  the  Chris- 
tians of  that  day.  The  question  about  the  resurrection  of  the 
flesh  was  widely  debated.  Apparently  a  large  number  of  the 
Christians,  presumably  with  Greek  or  Oriental  background, 
denied  that  the  body  would  be  raised.  Their  conviction  was 
based  on  the  dualism  of  the  time  which  caused  men  to  seek 
release  from  the  flesh.  The  Jews  had  believed  in  a  physical 
resurrection,  else  how  could  they  enjoy  the  coming  kingdom? 
The  Christian  belief  was  apparently  based  on  the  corresponding 
expectation  of  the  kingdom,  but  it  gained  much  of  its  sharpness 
from  the  controversy  over  Jesus'  resurrection,  as  the  question 
was  raised  by  the  Docetists.  Justin  Martyr  devoted  a  separate 
treatise  to  the  subject  (parts  of  which  have  been  preserved). 
Deformities  and  sickness  were  to  be  healed  in  the  resurrection 
just  as  they  were  by  Jesus  when  he  was  on  earth.  Irenaeus  also 
entered  into  a  spirited  contest  with  the  "heretics,"  maintaining 
that  no  position  is  tenable  except  that  just  as  Jesus  rose  from 
the  dead  so  must  all  men. 

It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  as  the  Christian  church  progressed 
in  the  Graeco-Roman  world,  it  did  so  with  a  decreasing  unity 
of  thought.  In  this  respect  it  became  like  the  world  in  which 
it  lived.  While  it  held  tenaciously  to  many  of  its  earlier  posi- 
tions, it  was  so  assailed  by  new  demands  that  it  allowed  some 
of  its  beliefs  to  be  gradually  neglected.  Christianity  was  seeking 
salvation  for  its  adherents  in  a  renewed  quest.  If  the  require- 
ments had  been  the  same  that  Paul  faced,  Christianity  would 
have  ceased  being  a  quest,  it  would  have  offered  dogmas.  In 
fact,  this  is  exactly  what  did  happen  at  a  later  time. 

It  is  difficult  or  even  impossible  to  characterize  Christianity 
during  the  second  century,  beyond  saying  that  its  interests  were 
widely  diversified.  Again  it  reflected  the  social  forces  and  com- 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  151 

plexes  of  its  environment.  But  by  this  time  its  horizon  was  far 
wider  than  it  had  been.  Instead  of  being  a  religion  that  was 
forced  to  retreat  into  isolation,  it  was  'openly  in  contact  with 
every  phase  of  life,  and  even  dared  to  present  its  .apologetic  to 
the  most  cultured.  It  was  continually  engaging  in  a  process  of 
adaptation.  All  classes  of  people  were  being  recruited  in  its 
ranks  and  each  one  was  to  be  satisfied  in  his  desire  for  a  vital 
redemption.59  The  Christian  message  gained  its  power  not  by 
any  convincing  logic  within  a  system  of  thought  objectively 
considered,  but  by  its  ability  to  assure  men  that  there  was  no 
other  name  than  Jesus'  given  among  men  whereby  they  might 
be  saved. 

The  influence  of  Graeco-Roman  thought  upon  the  church 
may  be  seen  in  the  history  and  literature  of  many  of  the  men 
who  became  leaders  in  the  Christian  church.  Augustine,  in  his 
Confessions,  tells  of  his  pilgrimage  through  many  systems  of 
thought  in  his  search  for  rest.60  Other  writings  show  that  he 
never  effaced  the  marks  whic'h  were  made  upon  his  mind  by 
these  philosophies.  His  doctrine  of  God  is  plainly  a  reminiscence 
of  his  Neo-Platonic  experience,  and  his  conception  of  salvation 
as  rest  in  God  is  from  the  same  source.  His  belief  in  "original 
sin"  was  a  deepening  of  Paul's  evaluation  of  human  nature,  and 
the  need  of  a  permanent  indwelling  in  God. 

The  culmination  of  another  influence  from  Graeco-Roman 
life  is  seen  in  Augustine's  "City  of  God."  After  the  spread  of 
Christianity  into  all  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire,  there  came 
into  the  church  many  who  did  not  entertain  the  earlier  Christian 
ideas  regarding  the  worthlessness  of  this  world  order.  The 
church  gradually  appropriated  ideas  of  control,  built  up  an 
organization  unconsciously  patterned  after  the  state,  and  brought 
all  means  of  salvation  under  its  dominance.  The  church  became 
the  channel  of  grace  and  as  such  formally  determined  what 
should  be  the  forms  of  soteriological  belief.  The  creeds  which 
were  promulgated  from  time  to  time  register  a  characteristic 
attitude  to  incorporate  all  moderate  ideas  in  a  tolerable  system 
of  thought.  The  nature  of  Christ  was  fixed  in  order  to  satisfy 
those  who  were  dominated  by  the  formulae  of  Graeco-Roman 
thought,  and  who  felt  that  a  man  could  not  be  saved  unless  evil 
human  nature  was  transformed  by  the  indwelling  of  the  divine 
Christ  in  an  earthly  body,  and  the  perpetual  transformation  of 


152  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

huimanity  effected  through  the  miracle  of  the  eucharist.  Simi- 
larly there  was  recognition  given  to  those  who  responded  to 
ethical  demands  and  personal  relationship  to  God,  but  this  was 
effected  more  through  the  organization  and  .administration  of 
the  church  than  through  the  formulation  of  the  creeds. 

Thus,  from  the  time  Christianity  became  an  independent 
movement  in  a  growing  world  until  it  was  crystallized  in  a  stable 
form,  it  was  concerned  chiefly  with  meeting  the  divergent  ques- 
tions of  earnest  seekers  after  salvation,  and  by  this  act  was 
continued  as  a  quest  for  salvation. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  153 

CONCLUSION. 

In  placing  an  estimate  upon  early  Christianity  as  one  of  the 
religions  of  the  ancient  world,  three  points  should  be  kept  in 
mind:  (1)  the  steps  of  its  historical  development;  (2)  its  char- 
acter as  a  body  of  ideas  or  a  quest  for  salvation;  and  (3)  the 
sources  of  the  technique  by  which  it  operated. 

(1)  The  growth  'of  Christianity  from,  a  small,  and  narrow, 
if  not  particularistic  religion,  to  a  bold,  aggressive  faith  with 
world-wide  ambitions,  has  been  all  too  lightly  touched  upon  in 
this  discussion,  but  it  is  clear  that  during  the  first  few  centuries, 
it  came  into  contact  with  practically  all  the  known  world  and 
closely    paralleled    in   its    development,    the    expanding   Roman 
Empire.     The  personnel  of  its  leadership  and  its  membership 
was  changed  radically,  at  first  a  few  Palestinian  Jews,  later  a 
number  of  Grecian  Jews,  and  finally  those  who  haJd  never  known 
Judaism  except  through  social  prejudices,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
formally  through  their  sacred  literature,  on  the  other.    With  the 
recruits  from  ever  widening  circles,  there  caime  interests  which 
primitive  Christianity  could  not  have  dealt  with  to  any  great 
degree,  if  at  all,  and  the  diversity  of  these  interests  varied  as 
did  the  groups  from  which  they  came.     The  effect  of  this  can 
not  have  been  anything  short  of  revolutionary.     The  historical 
task  is  to  determine  at  what  points  the  significant  additions  and 
alterations   were   made.      There   has   been   a   tendency   to    push 
forward  the  date  when  Gentile  beliefs  and  practices  first  began 
to   effect  the  message   of   Christianity,  on  the   ground  that  the 
Gospel  had  a  fairly  definite  form  which  was  and  should  have 
been  preserved  in  its  original  purity  as  long  as  possible. 

(2)  But  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  real  line  of 
ancestry  is  to  be  found  in  the  succeeding  social  and  environ- 
mental situations  in  which  the  Christian  community  found  itself 
from  time  to  time.    The  struggle  for  existence  was  on  behalf  of 
gaining  a  certain  salvation  and  not  to  preserve  what  had  been 
given,  even  though  such  a  claim  was  made.    There  was  nothing 
more  immediate  than  the  needs  to  which  men  gave  a  religious 
interpretation.     Christ   was   brought   into   the   range   of  human 
experience  in  various  ways  during  even  the  first  centuries  of  the 
history  of  the  faith,  but  he  was  always  related  to  the  need  for 
salvation  and  always  was  interpreted  as  satisfying  all  the  require- 


154  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

ments.  It  is  of  no  consequence  that  the  past  was  used  to  validate 
interpretations.  In  any  case  it  was  the  present  distress  which 
was  giving  the  driving  power. 

An  illustration  of  the  character  of  Christianity  may  be  seen 
in  the  ethical  situation  which  it  confronted.  However  high  may 
have  been  the  ethical  standards  of  the  primitive  church,  it  can 
not  be  said  that  it  was  destined  to  success  because  of  this  fact. 
Celsus  twitted  his  Christian  rivals  with  the  lower  standards  of 
admission  which  the  church  had  in  comparison  with  the  mysteries. 
Even  if  the  church  had  had  equal  or  superior  standards,  there  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  she  would  have  been  destined  because 
of  it,  to  impress  the  whole  world  with  her  message.  The  signifi- 
cant thing  is  that  she  had  an  ethical  problem  at  which  she  was 
working,  a  fact  of  more  vital  importance  than  a  standard.  More- 
over that  ethical  problem  was  conditioned  by  the  social  conditions 
under  which  people  were  living,  and  not  by  the  precepts  of  the 
past,  which  had  to  be  reinterpreted  unless  by  chance  they  suited 
the  case  in  hand.  Just  so  in  the  case  of  religion's  greatest  task, 
salvation.  Other  religions  offered  every  kind  of  salvation  that 
Christianity  dealt  with,  but  they,  for  the  most  part,  were  not 
plastic  enough  to  deal  with  the  changing  requirements  of  human- 
ity. Those  which  made  the  best  adaptations  were  Christianity's 
closest  rivals.  But  Christianity  was  continually  dealing  with 
the  problem.  It  finally  developed  until  it  dealt  with  every  kind 
of  salvation  interest.  It  'offered  every  kind  of  salvation,  but  it 
had  only  one  savior.  The  tendency  of  the  Graeco-Roman 
religions  was  to  equate  their  gods  with  all  other  gods.  But 
Christianity  did  not  do  so.  In  this  we  see  evidence  that  salvation 
was  actually  more  vital  than  Christology. 

This  raises  the  question  as  to  the  nature  of  the  relationship 
between  the  Gentile  religions  and  Christianity.  Parallels  in 
form  are  interesting,  but  they  are  not  convincing,  and  at  best 
they  are  always  debatable.  But  it  is  by  no  means  necessary  to 
insist  that  forms  were  borrowed,  while  maintaining  that  Chris- 
tianity was  profoundly  influenced  by  its  neighbors  and  rivals. 
It  is  entirely  conceivable  that  Paul,  let  us  say,  found  the  elements 
of  all  of  his  beliefs  in  Jewish  religion.  Certainly  the  Jews  at  one 
time  or  another  dealt  with  all  the  salvation  ideas,  though  with 
varying  degrees  of  interest.  But  the  question  of  significance  is: 
Were  there  stimuli  in  the  Graeeo-Roman  world  which  prompted 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  155 

him  to  develop  ideas  which  had  lain  dormant  in  Judaism  and 
early  Christianity?  One  can  not  resist  the  positive  conviction 
that  problems  arising  out  of  Gentile  religious  situations  drove 
Paul  to  interpret  his  faith  in  terms  comparable  to  those  of  the 
rival  faiths.  His  ideas  of  the  Spirit,  human  nature,  etc.,  may 
have  a  remote  Jewish  ancestry,  but  his  employment  of  them  was 
unquestionably  influenced  directly  from  the  side  of  Hellenistic 
life. 

(3)  The  characteristic  technique  employed  by  the  Jewish 
mind  and  that  employed  by  Graeco-Romans  is  sufficiently  distinct 
to  make  a  comparison  possible.  Judaism,  being  a  religion  created 
and  sustained  in  the  midst  of  a  highly  organized  social  structure, 
sought  to  control  the  destiny,  or  believed  that  it  was  controlled, 
by  personal  relations  or  attitudes.  Some  exceptional  features, 
like  tabu,  were  not  eradicated,  but  their  position  was  not  promi- 
nent. Among  the  Graeco-Romans,  however,  especially  between 
the  age  of  Alexander  and  that  of  Augustus,  there  was  little  or 
no  social  control  of  a  stable  character  upon  which  theodicy  could 
be  built.  Naturally  enough,  imen  fell  back  upon  a  non-social 
conception  and  pictured  the  control  of  human  destiny  in  terms 
of  interchange  of  power  in  a  physical  or  mechanical  way.  Out 
of  this  developed  magic,  mystical  identification  with  the  god,  or 
ontological  metaphysics  by  which  salvation  was  assured.  Certain 
exceptions  to  the  rule  are  to  be  seen  here  also,  notably  emperor 
worship  and  certain  phases  of  Mithra  worship.  But  these  ex- 
ceptions, when  studied  in  the  light  of  their  genesis  and  function, 
do  not  invalidate  the  distinction  already  suggested. 

While  certain  details  may  lack  satisfying  analysis,  the  general 
features  of  the  growing  Christian  movement  are  clearly  enough 
distinguished  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  as  Christianity  moved 
farther  and  farther  out  into  the  Gentile  world,  it  responded  to 
the  stimuli  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  and  developed  a  technique 
of  salvation  which  was  continually  accommodated  to  the  chang- 
ing needs  of  men.  Thus  in  the  midst  of  other  quests  for  salvation, 
it  became  through  its  adaptability  the  one  great  quest,  to  whose 
standard  of  allegiance  all  the  citizens  of  the  Roman  world  might 
rally. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  157 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  SOCIAL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL  BASIS  OF  SALVATION  BELIEFS 

1.  Anselm's  Cur  Deus  Homo  is  an  excellent  illustration   of  the  influ- 
ence of  social  ideas  and  experience  on  theology. 

2.  See  Durkheim:  The  Elementary  Forms  of  Eeligious  Life;  Ames:  The 
Psychology  of  Eeligious  Experience;  Irving  King:  The  Development  of  Ee- 
ligion;  Wundt:  The  Elements  of  Folk  Psychology. 

3.  There  is  no  inherent  necessity  in  the  salvation  idea,  broadly  inter- 
preted, which  demands  the  presence  of  a  savior  god.     However,  such  a  god 
is  almost  universally  present  as  a  provider  of  salvation.     Apparent  excep- 
tions are  probably  due  to  the  presence  of  a  strong  feeling  of  self-reliance 
overshadowing    dependence    on    a    god.      "According    to   the    same    writer 
(Saussaye:  Eeligion  of  the  Ancient  Teutons  p.  463)  ideas  of  gods  seem  to 
have  had  little  place  in  the  thought  of  the  free  wandering  Vikings.     That 
many  of  them  were  godless  means  simply  that  their  reliance  upon  their  own 
strength  was  not  favorable  to  the  development  of  deities."     Irving  King: 
The  Development  of  Eeligion,  p.  260. 

4.  It  is  beyond  the  purpose  of  the  present  study  to  deal  with  the  ge- 
netic study  of  the  elements  of  religious  faith  in  order  to  locate  the  psycho- 
logical antecedents  of  salvation  ideas.     The  original  importance  of  food  and 
sex  instincts  (or  interests)  is  undisputed,  but  in  all  observable  religions  it  is 
clear  that  there  is  also  an  interest  in  things  which  are  not  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  above-named  interests  and  which  appear  to  function  inde- 
pendently.   Consult  Irving  King:  The  Development  of  Eeligion,  chapters  1-4; 
and  Ames:  The  Psychology  of  Eeligious  Experience,  chapter  3. 

5.  Illustrations  of  this  type  of  belief  are  abundant  in  the  history  of 
religions.     The  deification  of  the  powers  of  fertility  in  such  divinities  as 
Ishtar  and  Adonis    (Semitic)    and   Osiris    (Egyptian)    reflect  an  early  con- 
cern for  the  success  of  the  yearly  agricultural  venture  or  the  multiplication 
of  the  flocks.    In  the  Eleusinian  mysteries  particularly  the  recurrence  of  the 
seasons  of  seed  time  and  harvest  was  represented  as  anxiously  sought.     To 
the   devotee   of  the   cult,  the  fear  of  impending  famine  and  the  hope  for 
plenty  marked  the  highest  interests  which  could  be  made  primary  in  his 
experience.    In  the  Eig-Veda  (5.83.8)  the  rain  god  Parjanya  is  addressed  as 
follows:  "Lift  up  the  mighty  vessel,  pour  down  water  and  let  the  liberated 
streams  rush  forward.    Saturate  both  the  earth  and  the  heaven  with  fatness 
and  for  the  cows  let  there  be  drink  abundant. ' '    A  plea  for  protection  is  as 
follows:  "Not  to  the  fanged  that  bites,  not  to  the  toothless:  give  us  not  up, 
thou  conqueror,  to  the  spoiler."     Eig-Veda  1.189.5.      (All  Eig-Veda  quota- 
tions are  from  A.  C.  Clayton:  The  Eeligion  of  the  Eig-Veda.) 

6.  Note  the  citation  to  Eig-Veda  5.83.8  above. 

7.  Eig-Veda  7.46.2-3:  "Come  willingly  to  our  doors  that  gladly  welcome 
thee,  and  heal  all  sickness,  Eudra,  in  our  families.  .    .   .  Thou,  very  gracious 
god,  hast  thousand  medicines:  inflict  no  evil  on  our  sons  or  progeny."    Quite 
generally  sickness  was  thought  of  as  the  result  of  demon-possession  or  at 
least   demon-infliction.     For  illustrative   references   consult  Jane  Harrison: 
Prolegomena  to  the  Study  of  Greek  Eeligion,  chapter  5.     Salvation  under 
such  circumstances  received  a  great  deal  of  emphasis  on  the  negative  side, 
i.  e.,  release  from  demons.     Popular  imagination  elaborated  the  conception 
greatly. 

8.  The  History  of  the  Jewish  people  is  replete  with  such  desire  and  ex- 
pectation.    At  various  times  Egypt,  Babylonia,  Assyria,  Persia,  Macedonia, 
and  Borne  imperilled  the  individuality  of  the  Jewish  nation.     Yet  the  net 


158  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

result  was  the  sharpening  of  individual  consciousness  in  a  confident  trust 
that  deliverance  would  eventually  come  to  the  beleagured  people  of  God. 
When  Israel  had  leaders  who  dared  to  struggle  for  her  independence,  she 
looked  for  a  sword  wrought  redemption  (e.  g.,  I  Mace.  4:8-12),  but,  under  the 
stress  of  defeat  and  subjugation,  the  apocalyptic  hope  became  the  expression 
of  a  persistent  belief  in  salvation  being  given  to  a  faithful  people  through 
miraculous  means.  See  below,  Chapter  II. 

9.  This  interest  in  cultural  and  social  freedom  lay  close  to  the  hearts  of 
the  great  philosophic  movements  which  functioned  as  religions  for  many 
Graeco-Eomans.  It  is  also  reflected  in  the  statements  which  assert  that  in 
Christ  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free  (Ephesians  6:8;  Colossians  3:11;  and 
Philemon). 

The  breakdown  of  national  or  group  unity  among  the  early  Aryans  who 
gradually  worked  down  to  South  India  among  the  aboriginal  tribes,  and  the 
building  up  of  a  caste  system  in  its  place,  would  probably  have  permitted  a 
type  of  social  salvation,  had  not  the  social  stratification  been  too  rigid. 

10.  Eig-Veda  5.85.7-8:  "If  we  have  sinned  against  the  man  who  loves  us, 
have  ever  wronged  a  brother,  friend,  or  comrade,  the  neighbor  ever  with  us, 
or  a  stranger,  O  Varunna,  remove  from  us  this  trespass.  If  we,  as  game- 
sters cheat  at  play,  have  cheated,  done  wrong  unwittingly,  or  sinned  of  pur- 
pose, cast  all  these  sins  away  like  loosened  fetters,  and,  Varunna,  let  us  be 
thine  own  beloved." 

11.  See  Matthew  4:11. 

12.  See  Wundt:  Elements  of  Folk  Psychology,  chapter  III,  section  11. 

13.  The  terms  "ethics"  and  "ethical"  are  not  used  here  in  the  quali- 
tative or  moral  sense,  but  simply  as  indicating  relations  between  persons. 

14.  For  discussion  and  bibliography  see  Case:  Evolution  of  Early  Chris- 
tianity, chapter  3. 

15.  Justin  Martyr:  Apology  66.4. 


CHAPTER  II 

HEBREW  AND  JEWISH  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

1.  Jehovah  was  a  mountain  god  of  thunder,  if  we  accept  the  sugges- 
tions of  the  story  of  Moses  meeting  him  on  the  mount  and  conversing  with 
him  (Exodus  19  and  24).    He  was  a  god  of  fire  (of  lightning),  as  his  presence 
in  the  burning  bush   (Exodus  3),  and  in  the  pillar  of  fire   (Exodus  13:21) 
would  indicate.     See  also  Genesis  15:17  and  Psalm  18:8,  12.     He  was  wor- 
shipped at  trees  (Genesis  21:33),  or  at  stones  in  which  he  was  thought  to 
reside  (Genesis  28:22).     Jehovah  was  also  identified  with  Baal,  the  god  of 
fertility  (Hosea  2:16). 

2.  Genesis  7  and  9. 

3.  Exodus  15:22  ff. 

4.  Exodus  17;  Numbers  20. 

5.  Exodus  16. 

6.  Exodus  15:26;  23:25. 

7.  Exodus  16:33. 

8.  See  I  Corinthians  10:4,  "for  they  drank  of  the  spiritual  rock  that 
followed  them."    Later  tradition  represents  the  rock  as  having  the  shape  of 
a  bee-hive  and  self-propelling  power.     See  Louis  Gingberg:  The  Legends  of 
the  Jews  (1911),  vol.  Ill,  p.  52-53;  also  Basting's  Bible  Dictionary,  "Rock" 
J.  A.  Selbie. 

9.  See  J.  M.  P.  Smith:  The  Rise  of  Individualism  among  the  Hebrews, 
American  Journal  of  Theology,  volume  10,  pp.  251-266. 

10.  Genesis  13:16;  cf.  22:16-18;  26:4;  32:12. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  159 

11.  Genesis  16:1  ff. 

12.  I  Samuel  2:1,  5. 

13.  Luke  1.     Of  a  similar  nature,  but  more  in  contrast  with  later  codes 
of  ethics,  are  the  accounts  of  intrigue  and  deception  to  which  Lot's  daughters 
(Genesis  19:30-38)  and  Tamar  applied  themselves  (Genesis  38).    In  each  of 
these  cases  there  is  reflected  no  sense  of  guilt.     Bather  there  is  implied  a 
justification  of  the  measure  adopted.     In  these  instances  there  is  not  out- 
ward identification  of  the  course  followed  with  a  divine  plan,  as  in  the  story 
of  Abraham  and  Sarah,  but  the  similarity  of  intent  is  unmistakable. 

14.  Isaiah  49:21. 

15.  Genesis  27. 

16.  Genesis  30:1-23;  Isaiah  47:9;  49:21. 

17.  Exodus  13:17-15:21. 

18.  Exodus  14:13-14;  see  further,  The  Song  of  Moses,  Exodus  15:1-18; 
and  Exodus  23:22. 

19.  Exodus   17:8-13. 

20.  I  Samuel  4:4;  II  Samuel  6:2. 

21.  Numbers  14:41-45. 

22.  I  Samuel  4-6. 

23.  Cf.  Isaiah,  passim;   Daniel  9:4-19;  the  Maccabr>;T,n  psalms  44,  74, 
79,  83,  etc. 

There  are  instances  iii  which  an  individual  secures  immunity  from  ene- 
mies through  the  help  of  Jehovah,  but  these  are  not  to  be  differentiated  from 
the  preservation  of  groups  from  their  enemies,  except,  of  course,  on  the  mere 
basis  of  numbers.  Cf.  Daniel  3:12-27  and  6:16-23. 

The  prevalence  of  hopes  for  national  salvation  is  amply  attested  by  the 
constant  recurrence  in  the  Old  Testament  of  the  wo.  ds  "  s'.iv:  tion", 
"save",  or  "savior",  in  passages  which  deal  with  or  reflect  threatened 
disaster  to  the  children  of  Israel. 

24.  The  will  of  God  was  made  known  in  different  ways:  through  mani- 
festations in  nature,  such  as  the  rustling  of  leaves  (II  Samuel  5:24;  Homer: 
Odyssey  14:327),  or  the  presence  or  absence  of  dew   (Judges  6:3640),  by 
some  procedure  involving  chance,  as  the  use  of  the  Urim  and  Thummin,  or 
of  arrows    (Ezekiel  21:21),   also  in  many   other  ways  but   chiefly  through 
some  spokesman  sent  by  God,  who  through  dreams  or  a  direct  revelation 
was  made  acquainted  with  the  way  by  which  divine  power  would  assist  man 
in  his  difficulty.     There  grew  up  a  ministry  of  salvation  in  which  angels 
and  prophets  were  the  chief  figures. 

25.  For  a  full   discussion  of  Hebrew  ethics  see  H.   G.  Mitchell:   The 
Ethics  of  the  Old  Testament. 

26.  II  Samuel  12:1-15. 

27.  Psalm  24. 

28.  Isaiah  51. 

29.  Contrast  chapter  47,  where  universal  salvation  is  not  indicated. 

30.  Isaiah  45:22-23;  56:1;  60:18;  66:23,  etc. 

31.  It  is  interesting  in  connection  with  this,  as  well  as  with  later  liter- 
ature, that  there  are  frequent  expressions  of  the  idea  that  Jehovah  would 
subjugate  all  nations  to  Israel.     This  is  an  illuminating  commentary  on  the 
type  of  salvation  which  was  sought.     The  power  of  Egypt,  Babylonia,  As- 
syria, Persia,  Macedonia,  and  Rome  was  felt  from  time  to  time  in  Palestine. 
It  was  a  common  experience  for  the  Jews  to  be  in  bondage.  It  is  not  strange, 
therefore,  that  bitterness  of  oppression  should  produce  such  a  resentful  ex- 
clusiveness  as  was  sometimes  expressed  by  the  Jews. 

32.  Psalms  of  Solomon  12:2;  15:8  f.     Eeferences  to  late  Jewish  liter- 
ature are  cited  from  R.  H.  Charles:  Apocrypha  and  Pseudepigrapha  of  the 
Old  Testament. 

33.  R.  H.  Charles  in  his  Critical  History  of  the  Doctrine  of  a  Future 
Life  (Hebrew,  Jewish,  and  Christian  Eschatology,  Jowett  Lectures  1898-99) 


160.  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

discusses  this  topic  somewhat  in  detail:   see  pp.  177-179,  200-203,  242-244; 
also  index  "Kingdom." 

34.  Psalms  of  Solomon  17:24,  41;  I  Baruch  4:25,  33;  Sirach  36:1,76. 

35.  Psalms  of  Solomon  8:34,  17:28;  I  Baruch  5:5;   Tobit  14:5:   Bivach 
36:11. 

36.  I  Baruch  4:14-35;  Tobit  13:10,  16;  14:5. 

37.  Schiirer:  History  of  the  Jewish  People  1.1.225,  English  translation 
of  third  German  edition.     See  Wellhausen :  Pharisiier  mid  badducaer,  p.  84, 

38.  The  Wars  of  the  Jews  6.5.4. 

39.  Antiquities  20.8.10. 

40.  Antiquities  20.8.6.     The  Wars  of  the  Jews  2.13.4  and  5. 

41.  Antiquities  18.1.6;  20.8.5  and  6. 

42.  Schiirer:    History    of   the   Jewish   People,    1.2.178.      Joseplms:    The 
Wars  of  the  Jews  7.10.1. 

43.  Consult  Schiirer. 

44.  The  Messianic  beliefs  of  the  non-canonical  literature  are  less  fa- 
miliar than  those  of  the  canonical  Old  Testament,  and  treatises  on  the  sub- 
ject are  not  as  accessible,  hence  tMp  incomplete  discvia^ion  v  pv.t  forward 
tentatively.     See  the  works  of  Charles  on  the  literature  and  ideas  of  late 
Judaism. 

45.  I  Enoch  9:6,  9,  10;  10:7,  8. 

46.  I  Enoch  16:1. 

47.  I  Enoch  5:9;  10:7,  16,  20-22;  25:6. 

48.  I  Enoch  28:5;  Cf.  90:29. 

49.  I  Enoch  10:17-19. 

50.  I  Enoch  5:7-9. 

51.  II  Maccabees  1:27;  2:18;  7:37. 

52.  II  Maccabees  14:15. 

53.  II  Maccabees  7:9,  36. 

54.  II  Maccabees  7:11;  14:46. 

55.  II  Maccabees  7:29. 

56.  See  Charles:  Apocrypha  and  Pseudepigrapha  of  the  Old  Testament, 
vol.  1,  note  on  Jubilees  31:18. 

57.  Cf.  Psalms  of  Solomon  17:23-36;  II  Baruch  29:3. 

58.  IV  Ezra  13:26-36. 

59.  IV  Ezra  7:28-30. 

60.  II  Enoch  32:2-33:2. 

61.  Assumption  of  Moses  10:7. 

62.  II  Baruch  29:4-30:1;  73:1,  2,  7;  74:1. 

63.  Charles:  Critical  History  of  the  Doctrine  of  a  Future  Life,  p.  214 
and  note. 

64.  I  Enoch  40:7. 

65.  I  Enoch  62:2. 

66.  I  Enoch  41:2;  45:4,  5. 

67.  I  Enoch  50:1,  2. 

68.  IV  Ezra  7:  61;  cf.  7:47,  48;  8:1-3. 

69.  See  Charles:  Critical  History  of  the  Doctrine  of  a  Future  Life,  in- 
dex < '  Eesurrection. " 

70.  Value  of  morality:  Psalms  of  Solomon  12,  13,  15,  16;  I  Enoch  22;  of 
keeping  the  law:  Wisdom  of  Solomon  6:18,  19;   IV  Maccabees  11:7.     Also 
Weber:  Jiid.  Theologie,  3  Ann*,  p.  349,  where  the  Talmud  is  quoted  as  saying, 
"If  Israel  for  only  two  Sabbaths  would  keep  the  law,  she  would  be  re- 
deemed."   See  also  Schiirer:  History  of  the  Jewish  People,  2.2.128. 

71.  IV  Maccabees  1:6;  3:5. 

72.  Wisdom  of  Solomon  6:24;  8:17;  9:18;  10:4. 

73.  See  also   Deuteronomy   32:17;   Leviticus   16:8  ff.;   Judges  5-4    20- 
I  Kings  22:19;  Psalms  106:37;  Isaiah  24-26;  34:14. 

74.  Judges  9:23;  I  Samuel  14:15;  8:3. 

75.  Tobit  3:8,  17;  6:14-17;  8:3. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  161 

76.  I  Enoch  chapters  1-36. 

77.  I  Enoch  69:4,  6. 

78.  I  Enoch  40: 7. 

79.  I  Enoch  53:3;   56:1;   63:11. 

80.  Testaments  of  the  XII:  Benjamin  5:2;  also  Simeon  3:5.     See  The 
Epistle  of  James  4:7,  8. 

81.  Philo:   de  Monarchia  2:226.15.     For  a  .fuller  discussion  see  Cony- 
beare:  "  Christian  Demonology",  Jewish  Quarterly  Eeview,  vol.  8,  pp.  576- 
608;  vol.  9,  pp.  59-114;  444-470;  581-603. 

82.  Note  the  reference  above  to  the  effect  of  Stoicism  on  IV  Macca- 
bees (1:6;  3:5). 

83.  M.    Friedlander,   in   two   articles    ("Judaism    in   the   pre-Christian 
Greek  World,"  Theol.  Litteraturzeitung,  1897,  no.  12;  and  "Pauline  Eman- 
cipation from  the  Law  a  Product  of  the  pre-Christian  Jewish  Diaspora," 
Jewish  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  14,  pp.  265  ff.)  has  maintained  that  there  was 
a  decided  split  in  the  Diaspora  as  a  consequence  of  the  loss  of  national  con- 
sciousness and  the  interest  in  G-entile  philosophic  thought.     His  view  has 
been  attacked  as  too  radical,  particularly  by  Schiirer. 

84.  See  Wm.  Robertson  Smith:  Religion  of  the  Semites  (1894)  pp.  356 
ff.;  also  Ames:  The  Psychology  of  Religious  Experience,  chapter  7. 

85  'See  Ames:  The  Psychology  of  Religious  Experience,  chapters  4 
and  5. 

86.  "According  to  a  tradition,  which  is  found  in  the  Mishna  (Pesachim 
4.9)  and  in  certain  Byzantine  writers  (Suidas:  Lex  under  'Efe/cias,  and 
Glycas  in  Fabricius,  Cod.  pseudepigrapha  1.1042  f.)  we  learn  that  the  pious 
king  Hezekiah  ordered  the  suppression  of  Solomon's  'Book  of  Cures',  be- 
cause the  people  trusted  it  so  much  that  they  neglected  to  pray  to  God." 
Quoted  from  Schiirer:  History  of  the  Jewish  People  2.3.153-4.  It  would 
seem  that  while  the  practice  and  belief  in  magic  were  officially  opposed,  it 
did  crop  out  from  time  to  time. 


CHAPTER  III 

GRAECO-ROMAN  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

1.  This  may  be  seen  with  some  degree  of  clearness  in  the  development 
of  the  Hebrew  religion. 

2.  For  discussion  and  bibliography  see  Case:  Evolution  of  Early  Chris- 
tianity, Chapter  9;  also  Cumont:  Oriental  Religions  in  Roman  Paganism. 

3.  See   Cumont:    Oriental  Religions,  p.   75. 
Pluterch:  On  Isis  and  Osiris,  28. 

4.  Plutarch:  On  Isis  and  Osiris,  13. 

5.  Plutarch:  On  Isis  and  Osiris,  27. 

6.  See  Erman:  Die  Aegyptische  Religion.    Berlin  1910. 

7.  Qappei    re   /a.vcrrai   TOV    Beov  aeo'wo'/ui.evov     er  at    yap    ijfj.ii>    e/c    troixav   (TWTtJpia. 
Firmicus  Maternus:  de  Errore  profanarum  Religionum,  22. 

8.  Citation  from  Case:  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  p.  311. 

9.  On  magic,  astrology,  and  demonology,  see  Jane  Harrison:  Prolego- 
mena to  a  Study  of  Greek  Religion;  Cumont:  Oriental  Religions,  Chapter  7, 
et   passim;    and   Cumont:    Astrology   and   Religion   among   the   Greeks  and 
Romans. 

10.  On  magic  as  the  basis  of  Gnosticism,  see  Legge:  Forerunners  and 
Rivals  of  Christianity,  volume  1,  chapters  3,  4,  5,  and  6;  see  also  Hastings 
Dictionary  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  volume  6,  "Gnosticism,"  E.  F.  Scott. 

11.  See  Cumont:  Oriental  Religions,  pp.  VIII  and  IX. 


162  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

12.  The  influence   of  social  forms  on  religion  may  probably  be  seen 
in  the  prominence  of  the  goddess,  though  the  husband  may  have  a  place  in 
the  myth.     This  prominence  is  thought  to  date  back  to  a  period  of  matri- 
archy.    See  Cumont:  Oriental  Eeligions  p.  48. 

13.  See  Case:  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  pp.  285,  286. 

14.  Hastings  Dictionary  of  Eeligion  and  Ethics,  vol.  6,  "Gnosticism," 
E.  F.  Scott. 

15.  Cumont:  Astrology  and  Eeligion  among  the  Greeks  and  Eomans, 
pp.  36,  53-56. 

16.  Kaibel,  Inscr.  Gr.  XIV,  1488,  1705,  1782,  1842. 

17.  Epimenides,   a   Cretan   wizard,   was   summoned   by   Athens   in   596 
B.  C.  that  he  might  purify  the  city  from  the  guilt  incurred  by  the  murder 
of  Cylon's  followers  at  the  altars  of  the  gods.    Cf.  Aristotle,  Constitution  of 
Athens,  Chapter  1. 

18.  Cumont:  Oriental  Eeligions,  pp.  90-92. 

19.  Suetonius:  Nero,  24. 

20.  Origen:  Celsus  III,  59  f. 

21.  Livy:  Hist.  XXIX,  10-14. 

22.  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Latinarum  III,  4413. 

23.  See  Jane  Harrison:  Prolegomena,  especially  Chapter  5. 

24.  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Latinarum  VI,  510. 

25.  See  Cumont:  Oriental  Eeligions,  Chapter  3,  and  notes. 

26.  'Cumont:  Oriental  Eeligions,  p.  99. 

27.  See  Cumont:  Oriental  Eeligions,  pp.  126,  129,  and  notes. 

28.  Cumont:  Mysteries  of  Mithra,  pp.  142-143. 

29.  See  Cumont:  Oriental  Eeligions,  pp.  157-159. 

30.  Julian:  Caesares,  p.  336  C. 

31.  Suggested  by  Cumont:  Astrology  and  Eeligion,  pp.  28,  29. 

32.  Legge:  Forerunners  and  Eivals  of  Christianity,  volume  I,  p.  140. 

33.  Legge:    Forerunners    and    Eivals    of    Christianity,    volume    I,    pp. 
104,  107. 

34.  See  Case:  The  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  Chapter  7;  W.  O.  E. 
Oesterley:  The  Evolution  of  the  Messianic  Idea;  and  Petersen:  Die  wunder- 
bare  Geburt  des  Heilandes,  pp.  32  ff. 

35.  Strabo:  XIV,  1,  31.     For  further  references  to  the  deification  of 
Alexander,  see  Case:  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  pp.  205-208. 

36.  For    discussion    and    references    see    Paul    Wendland:    SftTHP,    in 
Zeitschrift  fiir  die  neutestamentliche   Wissenschaft,  volume   V   (1904),  tpp. 
335-353. 

37.  For  details  see  Beurlier:  Le  Culte  Imperial,  son  histoire  et  son  or- 
ganization depuis  Auguste  jusqu'  a  Justinien.     Paris  1891. 

38.  Suetonius:   Augustus,  52  f. 

39.  Cf.  Bigg:  The  Origins  of  Christianity,  p.  17;  Citations:  Pausanias 
VIII,  2.5;  9.7;  and  Philostratus:  Vita  Apollonii,  1.15. 

40.  Cf.  Beulier:  Le  Culte  Imperial,  p.  155. 

41.  See  Paul  Wendland.  ZfiTHP,  in  Zeitschrift  fiir  die  Neutestament- 
liche Wissenschaft,  volume  V  (1904),  pp.  335-353. 

42.  For  references  on  identification  and  association  of  emperors  with 
gods  see  Beurlier,  Le  Culte  Imperial,  pp.  155-156. 

43.  Harper:  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Letters  (Chicago,  1892),  part  I, 
Number  2,  p.  2  f. 

44.  "The  best  expression  of  this  idea  in  words  is  pax  deorum, — the 
right  relation  between  man  and  the  various  manifestations  of  the  Power, 
and  the  machinery  by  which  it  was  secured  was  the  ius  divinum. ' '     W.  W. 
Fowler:  The  Eeligious  Experience  of  the  Eoman  People,  p.  431. 

45.  See    Paul    Wendland:    Die    hellenistisch-romische    Kultur    (1912), 
p.  143. 

46.  Vergil:  Eclogue  IV,  Cited  from  Case:  Evolution  of  Early  Chris- 
tianity, pp.  223-224. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  163 

47.  Vergil:  Aeneid,  lines  791-794,  Conington's  Translation. 

48.  Collection  of  Ancient   Greek  Inscriptions  in  the  British  Museum, 
Part  IV,  section  I  (Oxford,  1893),  p.  63,  number  894.    Cited  from  Case:  Evo 
lution  of  Early  Christianity,  p.  226. 

49.  C'f.  on  Caligula,  Josephus,  Antiquities  18.7;  and  on  Domitian,  Sue- 
tonius:   Domitian,    13.      See    also    Case:    Evolution    of    Early    Christianity, 
pp.  216-217. 

50.  Beurlier  gives  a  list  of  seventy-eight  "divi"  in  Le  Culte  Imperial, 
Appendice  A. 

51.  Dion  Cassius  (63  1-5)  quotes  the  greeting  of  Tiridates  to  Nero,  "O 

Lord,  I am  thy  slave,  I  am  come  to  thee,  my  God,  worshipping 

thee  even  as  I  worship  Mithra. " 

52.  Boissier:  Eeligion  Eomaine,  volume  I,  p.  182. 

53.  Zeller:  Stoics,  Epicureans,  and  Sceptics,  p.  17. 

54.  Other  philosophies,  of  a  more  restricted  range  and  less  aggressive, 
as  well  as  less  unique,  cannot  be  reviewed  here.     Their  treatment,  either 
direct  or  indirect,  of  the  subject  under  discussion  in  this  study,  will,  in  all 
probability,  fit  into  the  main  outlines  of  the  systems  here  presented. 

55.  "Accustom  thyself  to  believe  that  death  is  nothing  to  us,  for  good 
and  evil  imply  sentience  and  death  is  the  privation  of  all  sentience;  there- 
fore, a  right  understanding  that  death  is  nothing  to  us  makes  enjoyable  the 
mortality  of  life,  not  by  adding  to  life  an  illimitable  time,  but  by  taking 
away  the  yearning  after  immortality.    For  life  has  no  terrors  for  him  who 
has  thoroughly  apprehended  that  there  are  no  terrors  for  him  in  ceasing  to 
live.     Foolish,  therefore,  is  the  man  who  says  that  he  fears  death,  not  be- 
cause it  will  pain  him  when  it  comes,  but  because  it  pains  him  in  the  pros- 
pect. "    Letter  to  Menoecus.    TJsener:  Epicurea,  p.  59  f.     Cited  from  Hicks: 
Stoic  and  Epicurean,  p.  169. 

56.  "The  fine  substance  of  the  gods  far  withdrawn  from  our  senses  is 
hardly  seen  by  the  thought  of  the  mind;  and,  since  it  has  ever  eluded  the 
touch  and  stroke  of  the  hands,  it  must  touch  nothing  that  is  tangible  for  us; 
for  that  cannot  touch  which  does  not  admit  of  being  touched  in  return." 
Lucretius  V,  148. 

57.  Revue  de  Philologie,  1877,  p.  264. 

58.  Journal  of  Philology,  XII,  p.  212  ff. 

59.  Giussani:  Lucretius,  Volume  I,  p.  227  ff. 

60.  Cicero:  De  Natura  Deorum,  I,  45,  105,  109. 

61.  Hicks:  Stoic  and  Epicurean,  p.  292. 

62.  Taylor:  Epicurus,  p.  84. 

63.  Usener:  Epicurea  3,  p.  62. 

64.  Usener:    Epicurea,   p.    59    f.      Cited   from    Hicks:    Stoic   and   Epi- 
curean, p.  170. 

65.  Catechism  5.    See  Zeller:  Stoics,  Epicureans,  and  Sceptics,  p.  506. 

66.  Epictetus,  Book  2,  Chapters  1,  6. 

67.  Epictetus,  Book  3,  Chapter  1;  Book  2,  Chapter  8. 

68.  Plutarch:   C.  Not.  10.1. 
Prof,  in  Virt.  12.82. 
Seneca:  Ep.  75.8. 

69.  iSeneca:  Ep.  71.18. 
Plutarch:  C.  Not.  9.1. 

70.  Epictetus:  Book  2,  Chapter  8. 

71.  Translation  by  W.  H.  Porter,  cited  from  Arnold's  Eoman  Stoicism, 
pp.  85-87. 

72.  Epictetus:  Book  1,  Chapters  1,  7,  12. 

73.  Cicero:     Tuscan    Disputations    3,  10,  22; 

4,  17,  39; 
4,,  18,  42; 

74.  Seneca:  de  Ira  1,  9,  2. 

75.  Pseudo-Plutarch  V  Horn.  134. 


164  QUESTS  FOB  SALVATION 

76.  Posidonius:  apud  Sext.  Emp.  adv.  math.  IX,  71-4. 
Also  Cicero:  Tuscan  Disputations,  1,  40,  42,  43. 
Plutarch:  On  the  genius  of  Socrates,  22. 

On  the  cessation  of  Oracles,  10. 
Philo:  de  Somniis  1,  138  (p.  642). 

77.  Preserved    by    Galen    from    Trepl    iradwv    by    Posidonius.      See    M. 
Pohlenz,  de  Posidonii  libris  irepl  -jraduv,  p.  62-". 

78.  Crossley:  Marcus  Aurelius  IV.  p.  XII. 
79     Kendall:  Marcus  Aurelius,  p.  XV. 

80.  Plotiiius:    Enneads    II.    9.    section    18     (217    B)     Volkrnann    Text 
(Teubner). 

81.  Plotinus:     Enneads    IV.     8.  section  6  (474). 

V.  2.  section  1  (494). 

82.  Plotinus:  VI.  9.  section  7  (785).     Cited  from  Fii-'cr:   Tl'e  Problem 
of  Evil  in  Plotinus,  p.  59.     The  language   of  Plotinus  is  based  upon  the 
figure  of  the  Good,  the  One,  being  the  center  about  which  are  ranged  con- 
centric  circles  representing  the   different   gradations   of  minor  perfections. 

83.  Plotinus:  Enneads  III.  8.  4  and  8. 

84.  Plotinus:  Enneads  III.  4.  2. 

85.  Plotinus:  Enneads  IV.  9.  3. 

86.  Plotinus:  Enneads  III.  6.  6. 

87.  The   philosophy    of  the   Hermetic   literature   and   of  Philo   is  not 
treated  here.     Philo  was  as  an  individual  thinker,  very  influential,  though 
there  was  nothing  that  might  be   called  a  strictly  Philonic  sect  or  philo- 
sophic movement.     His  thought,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Hermetic  literature, 
was  dualistic,  and  contributed  nothing  significant  which  was  not  also  set 
forth  by  the  philosophic  schools  of  greater  prominence.     Other  prominent 
individuals  and  phases  of  thought  have  been  omitted  from  this  discussion. 
It  is  believed  that  the  ones  reviewed  here  are  characteristic  of  the  Graeco- 
Roman  life  in  the  midst  of  which  Christianity  arose,  and  reveal  the  condi- 
tions which  were  formative  in  the  development  of  all  movements  both  pagan 
and  Christian. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIAN  QUEST  FOR  SALVATION 

1.  Harnack:  The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  I,  pp.  36-43. 

2.  See  Case:  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  chapter  IV. 

3.  Of.  the  tearing  down  of  the  Roman  eagle  in  Jerusalem  in  4  B.  C.T 
Josephus:  Antiquities  17.  6.  2-4. 

4.  Cf.  the  collection  taken  by  Paul  to  Jerusalem,  Acts  24:17;  I  Corin- 
thians 16:1-4. 

5.  Acts  7. 

6.  Objections  to  the  validity  of  such  an  argument  as  this  on  the  basis 
of  uncertain  historicity  are  of  no  great  weight  when  it  is  taken  into  con- 
sideration that  this  narrative  and  speech  are  chiefly  valuable  as  an  indica- 
tion that   even   as  late   as  the   composition   of   Acts,   Christians   considered 
themselves  one  with  the  Jews  except  on  certain  crucial  points.     Evidently 
this  was  a  typical  attitude  of  the  Christians  toward  Jews. 

7.  Acts  22;  26;  28:17  ffi. 

8.  Acts  10  and  11. 

9.  Acts  24:14. 

10.  "But  there  rose  up  certain  of  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees  who  oe- 
lieved,  saying,  It  is  needful  to  circumcise  them,  and  to  charge  them  to  keep 
the  law  of  Moses,"  Acts  15:5.     This  is  almost  equivalent  to  saying  that 
there  were  legalistic  Christian  Pharisees.    If  the  term  "Christian"  is  to  be 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  165 

used  in  describing  this  historical  situation,  it  is  rather  as  an  adjective  than 
as  a  designating  name.     Cf.  also  Acts  21:20. 

11.  E.  g.}  Acts  15:1;  18:5  ff.;  Romans;  Galatians. 

12.  Acts  14:1;  19:10. 

13.  Matthew  10:5. 

14.  Matthew  15:21-28;  Mark  7:24-30. 

15.  John  4:22. 

16.  Acts  18:5. 

17.  See  above,  Chapter  II. 

18.  Matthew  1:1-17. 

19.  Luke  3:23-38. 

20.  Luke  1:30-35. 

21.  Matthew  2:1-2. 

22.  Luke   1:67-79. 

23.  Luke  2:38. 

24.  Matthew  21:1-11;   Mark  11:1-11;  Luke  19:29-44. 

25.  Matthew  27:37;  Mark  15:26;  Luke  23:38. 

26.  Acts  1:6. 

27.  'See  E.  F.  Scott:   The  Kingdom  and  the  Messiah,  pp    41,    <2.     "In- 
deed it  is  in  only  two  portions  of  apocalyptic  literature — the  Similitudes  of 
Enoch  and  the  concluding  Psalms  of  Solomon — that  the  Messiah  appears  as 
a  really  central  figure,"  p.  42. 

28.  Acts  2:22. 

29.  Acts  2:36. 

30.  Acts  3:20;  cf.  5:31. 

31.  It  is  not  impossible  that  some  zealous  admirer  of  Jesus  during  his 
life  may  have  believed  that  he  was  to  be  the  Savior  of  Israel  by  means  of 
the   sword,   but   of  that  we   have   no  evidence.     If  his   disciple,  Simon  the 
Cananaean  or  Zealot  (Mark  3:18,  Luke  6:15;  Acts  1:13),  so  thought  of  him, 
he  seems  not  to  have  secured  a  following.    However,  the  uncertainty  of  the 
exact  meaning  of  the  descriptive  title  " Zealot"  is  so  great  that  one  can- 
not say  what  the  relationship  of  Simon  was  to  the  Zealot  party. 

32.  See   E.  F.   Scott:   The  Kingdom   and  the  Messiah,  pp.  49  ff.,  and 
references. 

33.  €f.  Philo:  de  Praemiis  et  Poenis,  16;  and  Josephus:  The  Wars  of 
the  Jews  6.5. 

34.  The  Fragments   of  a  Zadokite   Work,  the   date   of  which  is  pre- 
Christian,   contain  references  to  the   death  of  the  Teacher,   whose   sudden 
return  was  awaited.     The   Christian  expectation  was   not  wholly  without 
precedent. 

35.  Enoch  39;  45:4;   62:14;  71:16;  see  E.  F.  Scott:  The  Kingdom  and 
the  Messiah,  p.  52. 

36.  "If  Israel  for  only  two  Sabbaths  would  keep  the  law,  she  would 
be  redeemed."     Weber:  Jiid.     Theologie,  3  Aufl.  p.  349,  where  the  Talmud 
(Sabbath  118  b)  is  quoted. 

37.  The  gospel  picture  of  Jesus  as  the  great  healer  of  sickness  and 
the  powerful  opponent  of  all  the  demonic  powers  is  a  similar  extension  or 
elaboration  of  the  Messiah's  office. 

38.  Philippians  4:5;  I  Thessalonians  5:2. 

39.  Matthew  5:17-18;  cf.  Luke  16:17. 

40.  Matthew  15:1-20;  Mark  7:1-23. 

41.  For  a  full  discussion  on  this  point,  see  Schweitzer:  The  Quest  of 
the  Historical  Jesus,  chapters  15  and  16. 

42.  Universalism  was  probably  no  more  an  integral  part  of  the  early 
Christian  message  than   of  Jewish  teaching,  where  it   came   to  expression 
often.     Contact  with  other  peoples  had  a  tendency  to  break  down  particu- 
larism, just  as  later  Hellenistic  Christians  introduced  into  practice  what  had 
been  only  implicit  in  their  message.     We  have  already  .seen  that  Judaism 
at  times  yielded  to  pessimism  and  thereby  limited  the  number  who  were  to 


166  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

be  saved.  (IV  Ezra  7:61;  cf.  7:47,  48;  and  8:1-3).  The  same  thing  oc- 
curred in  early  Christianity,  though  God  was  not  called  indifferent  to  the 
loss  of  human  souls,  as  in  the  Jewish  literature.  Only  a  few  will  be  saved, 
only  a  few  will  enter  in  through  the  narrow  gate,  according  to  Matthew 
7:13  ff.  (Luke  13:24). 

43.  Cf.    the    accounts   regarding   Nicodemus    (John   3:1    ff.;    7:    50-52; 
19:39),  and   of  Joseph   of  Arimathea    (Matthew   25:57  f.;   Mark   15:43  f.; 
Luke  23:50f.;  John  19:38). 

44.  I  Corinthians  15:4-8. 

45.  Matthew  16:13-16;  Mark  8:27-29;  Luke  9:18-20. 

46.  Matthew  3:2. 

47.  Matthew  3:11,  12;  Mark  1:7,  8;  Luke  3:16,  17. 

48.  Matthew  4:17;  Mark  1:15. 

49.  Acts  3:19-21. 

50.  Acts  5:31,  42;  17:2,  3;  18:24-19:5;  Matthew  28:18-20;  etc. 

51.  Cf.  Acts  3:19-21;  5:31;  16:30,31;  Matthew  25:31-46. 

52.  Philippians  2:5-11. 

53.  James  5:3,  7-9. 

54.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  though  purporting  to  deal  with  Jewish 
(Old  Testament)   conceptions,  does  so  by  the  use  of  Alexandrian  allegory, 
and  thus  can  not  be  considered  as  an  expression  of  the  primitive  Christian 
thought  which  has  been  under  consideration  here. 

55.  See  the  Testament  of  the  XII. 

56.  Acts  19:11-20. 

57.  Other    incidents    which    echo    the    primitive    ideas    of    salvation 
may  be  suggested,  such  as  the  stilling  of  the  tempest  which  threatened  the 
lives  of  the  disciples  (Matthew  8:23-27  and  parallels);  the  feeding  of  the 
multitudes    (Matthew  14:13-21  and  parallels,  Matthew   15:32-39  and  Mark 
8:1-10);   Peter's  miraculous  release  from  prison    (Acts  12);   Paul's  escape 
from  a  storm  at  sea  (Acts  27) ;  and  the  viper  bite  which  was  made  harmless 
(Acts  28:1-6). 

58.  Matthew  6:24. 

59.  Matthew  7:11. 

60.  Matthew  16:24,  and  parallels;  cf.  Matthew  10:37-39. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  JEWISH  CHRISTIAN  QUEST  IN  A  HELLENISTIC  WORLD 

1.  In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  seen  that  the  two  religions  were 
at  first  virtually   one,  and  that  then  their  adherents  had  no  intention  of 
separating.    The  Christians  meant  to  deal  with  their  Jewish  relatives  and  in 
a  typically  Jewish  way.     But  the  same  documents  which  incidentally  show 
the  original  connection,  reveal  even  more  closely  the  growing  hostility  be- 
tween Jew  and  Christian.     The  story  of  Stephen's  death,  the  persecutions 
of   Christians  by  Paul,   both   according  to  Acts  and  to  Paul  himself,  the 
trials  which  he  met  at  the  hands  of  his  own  countrymen,  the  bitter  feeling 
toward  tho  Jews  revealed  by  the  Fourth  Gospel,  all  point  to  a  final  dissolu- 
tion of  the   connection  which  formerly  existed.     The  result  was  the  com- 
plete reversal  of  the  former  state  of  affairs.     Judaism,  once  the  persecutor 
of  Christianity,  later  found  herself  bitterly  assailed  by  the  growing  power 
of    her    Christian    rival.      (Barnabas    4.6-8;    16.1-4;    Diognetus    3;    Justin: 
Apology  I.  37;  39;  43-44;  47;  53;  60). 

2.  See  Schiirer:  History  of  the  Jewish  People  2.2.220  ff.;  Harnaek:  The 
Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity  I.  1  ff. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  167 

3.  Bousset:    Die    Religion    des   Judentums   in   Neutest.     Zeitalter,   pp. 

4.  Josephus,  though  a  Palestinian,  was  enough  of  an  opportunist  to 
abandon  the  position  of  the  fathers  and  to  identify  apologetically  t?ie  con 
quest  of  the  Romans  with  the  prophecies  of  Ancient  Israel.     Saul,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  a  Jew  of  the  Dispersion,  but  bitter  and  fanatic  to  a  degree 
apparently  unparalleled  by  any  of  his  compatriots. 

5.  See  Schurer:  History  of  the  Jewish  People,  2.  2.  243  ff. 

6.  These  are  referred  to  with  varying  distinctness  in  Acts  10:2,  22, 
35;  13:16,  26,  50;  16:14;  17:4;  18:7. 

7.  Josephus:   The  Wars  of  the  Jews  7.  3.  3. 

8.  Acts  14:1;  15:1-5;  17:4,  12;  18:4;  19:10. 

9.  "To  the  Jewish  mission  which  preceded  it,  the  Christian  mission 
was  indebted,  in  the  first  place,  for  a  field  tilled  all  over  the  empire;  in  the 
second  place,  for  religious  communities  already  formed  everywhere  in  the 
towns;  thirdly,  for  what  Axenfeld  calls  'the  help  of  materials'  furnished 
by  the  preliminary  knowledge  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  addition  to  cate- 
chetical and  liturgical  materials  which  could  be  employed  without  much  al- 
teration; fourthly,  for  the  habit  of  regular  worship  and  a  control  of  private 
life;  fifthly,  for  an  impressive  apologetic  on  behalf  of  monotheism,  histori- 
cal teleology,  and  ethics;  and  finally,  for  the  feeling  that  self -diffusion  was 
a  duty.     The  amount  of  this  debt  is  so  large,  that  one  might  venture  to 
claim  the  Christian  mission  as  a  continuation  of  the  Jewish  propaganda." 
Harnack:  The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  volume  1,  p.  15. 

10.  For  a  summary  of  the  external  conditions  which  gave  Christianity 
an  opportunity  to  undertake  its  non-Jewish  mission  and  fostered  its  devel- 
opment, see  Harnack:  The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity,  volume  1, 
pp.  19-23. 

11.  Acts  28:23-28. 

12.  Cf.  Peter's  vision,  Acts  10;  Paul's  decision  to  go  to  the  Gentiles 
alone,  Acts  18:6. 

13.  Matthew  28:7,  16-20;  cf.  also  Mark  16:7,  and  John  21. 

14.  Cf.  Luke  24:6,  7. 

15.  Acts  1:4,  8,  12. 

16.  Galatians  1:22;  I  Thessalonians  2:14. 

17.  Acts  1:8;  8:1  ff.;  9:31;  15:3. 

18.  Acts  9:2,  10,  19. 

19.  Acts  9:32  ff. 

20.  Acts  8:1  ff. 

21.  Acts  6:1  ff. 

22.  Acts  8:27  ff. 

23.  Acts  chapters  3  and  8;   and  I  Thessalonians  2:14.  , 

24.  Cf.  Acts  6.     Fanatic  and  rigid  legalists  among  the  Hellenists  or 
Grecian  Jews  brought  bitter  charges  against  Hellenistic  Christians. 

25.  Matthew  10:7. 

26.  Acts  2:38,  etc. 

27.  Matthew  10:32;  Acts  2:36;  cf.  II  Thessalonians  2. 

28.  Acts  6:14. 

29.  Acts  8:26  ff. 

30.  Already  there  was  quite  a  noticeable  tendency  in  Judaism  to  deal 
with  the  matter  of  admission  of  new  members  in  a  way  like  that  adopted  by 
Christianity.     The  law  and  its  attendant  regulations  were  allegorized  prac- 
tically out  of  existence  by  some  Jews.     Naturally  enough  the  requirements 
for   admission   were    lowered   on   the    side    of   formalism,    or   even    entirely 
eliminated.      The    question    of    baptism    and    circumcision    must    have    been 
fairly  acute  in  many  Jewish  circles.     See  Lake:  The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  p.  25  f. 

31.  Acts  11:19  f. 

32.  Acts  13:1. 


168  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

33.  Acts  11:20,  but  see  the  marginal  note  in  the  Eevised  Version. 

34.  Acts  13:1-3. 

35.  Acts  11:26. 

36.  Galatians  2. 

37.  Galatians  2:1-10. 

38.  Galatians  2:11-21. 

39.  Galatians  2:14-21. 

40.  Eomans  15:25  ff. 

41.  Galatians  1:15  ff. 

42.  Acts  9:15;  26:16-18. 

43.  Acts  9:23  f.;  Galatians  1:17. 

44.  Acts  19. 

45.  Matthew  24:14;   Mark  13:10  ff. 

46.  Paul  constitutes  the  chief  source,  for  this  phase  of  the  investiga- 
tion though  the  Synoptic  Gospels  and  Acts,  as  products  to  a  considerable 
degree   of  the   first  period   of  independence   from   the   original  Jewish  life 
with  which  Christianity  was  for  a  time  connected,  furnish  a  considerable 
amount  of  data. 

47.  Eusebius,  Church  History  3.  5.  2  f. 

48.  Galatians  1:12  ff. 

49.  Acts  5:14;  17:4,  12;  18:4,  8,  etc. 

50.  John  6:35;  11:26;  12:44  ff.;  20:29. 

51.  See  above,  Chapter  II. 

52.  Galatians  2:16. 

53.  Galatians  3:10. 

54.  Eomans  5:20;  7:7  ff. 

55.  Acts  '5:30,,  31. 

56.  Matthew  9:2-7  and  parallels;  Luke  7:47-50. 

57.  Cf.  Isaiah  53:  II  Maccabees  7:32-38;  IV  Maccabees  6:27;  17:18-22. 
See  also  B.  W.  Bacon:   American  Journal  of  Theology,  "The  Gospel  Paul 
Eeceived",  January,  1917  (pp.  15-42);  and  Deissmann:  Light  from  the  An- 
cient East,  p.  339,  for  the  Hellenistic  view. 

58.  II  Cor.  5:14. 

59.  Eomans  5:12  ff. 

60.  I   Corinthians   15:3;    cf.   also   Mark   10:45;    Matthew   20:28;    John 
11:49  ff. 

61.  Eomans  3:25  ff. 

62.  Eomans  5:9,  10. 

63.  Eomans  3:25;  5:9;  I  Corinthians  5:7;  10:16;  11:25;  Colossians  1:14, 
20;  cf.  also  Hebrews  9:14;  I  John  1:7;  Eevelation  7:14. 

64.  Philippians  4:5;  I  Thessalonians  5:2. 

65.  The  "great  apostasy"  or  "falling  away",  II  Thessalonians  2. 
The  coming  of  the  Messiah,  I  Thessalonians  4:16. 

The  resurrection  of  the  dead  believers,  I  Corinthians  15:12-19, 
35-57;  I  Thessalonians  4:13-16;  Philippians  3:21. 

The  transformation  of  the  living  believers,  I  Thessalonians  4:15, 
17;  I  Corinthians  15:51-57. 

The  victory  of  the  Messiah,  II  Thessalonians  1:7,  8;  I  Thessa- 
lonians 5:3;  II  Thessalonians  2:8. 

The  final  judgment  and  the  incidents  attending  it,  Eomans  2:  3-16; 
I  Corinthians  3:13;  4:5;  II  Corinthians  5:10. 

General  statements  about  the  future,  I  Corinthians  15:20-28;  I 
Thessalonians  4:16-17. 

66.  Acts   23:6;    26:4,   5;   Eomans   11;    II  Corinthians   11:22;    Galatians 
1:13,  14. 

67.  The  distinctions  brought  forward  here  are  not  based  on  national  or 
racial  origin  and  continuance,  but  upon  the  character  of  the  social  function 
which  they  performed.     There  is  no  a  priori  reason  why  Jewish  and  Gentile 
religions  should  not  have  given  equal  prominence  to  salvation  by  personal 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  169 

relations  and  by  contact  of  substances,  beyond  the  fact  that  the  social  or- 
ganizations of  the  two  peoples  fostered  divergent  types  of  soteriology.  The 
divergent  social  forms  are  " accidents  of  history"  which  form  no  part  of 
the  present  discussion. 

68.  Cf.  Judges  9:23;  I  Samuel  16:15;  I  Kings  22:24,  for  personalized 
spirit;    and   Numbers    11:17,   25;    II   Kings   2:9,   for   substance   spirit.     See 
E.  H.  Zaugg:  A  Genetic  Study  of  the  Spirit-Phenomena  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment",   (Private    edition,    distributed    by    the    University    of    Chicago    Li- 
braries, Chicago,  1917),  pp.  22  ff. 

69.  See  above,  Chapter  III. 

70.  Eomans  16:25;   cf.   also  I  Corinthians  2:1-10;   Ephesians  1:9,  10; 
Colossians  2:2. 

71.  I  Corinthians  4:1. 

72.  I  Corinthians  13:2;  14:2;  15:51;  Ephesians  3:3-11;  5:32;  Colossians 
1:27;  4:3;  I  Timothy  3:9,  16;  Matthew  13:11.    I  Timothy  3:16  contains,  as 
it  were,  an  epitome  of  the  Christian  mystery  drama.     The  Greek  cults  pre- 
sented to  their  devotees  the  picturesque  representation  of  the  Gods'  expe- 
riences in  order  to  bring  home  the  saving  power  of  the  deity,  and  to  con- 
vince them  of  the  value  of  following  in  the  path  of  divine  example.    Chris- 
tianity,  more   a   spoken  message   and  less  a  pictorial  presentation   of  the 
drama  than  the  Graeco-Boman  religions,  is  at  least  in  its  dramatic  qualities 
reminiscent  of  the  mysteries  of  the  Hellenistic  world. 

73.  Eomans  8:7. 

74.  Galatians  5:17. 

75.  Eomans  7:5,  15-20,  23,  24. 

76.  Eomans  3:9  ff.;  5:12  ff. 

77.  Eomans  3:10-12;  cf.  also  Psalms  14:1  f.;  53:1  f. 

78.  Eomans  7:18-20. 

79.  Galatians  5:16-25. 

80.  Eomans  12:1;  I  Corinthians  6:19,  20;  I  Thessalonians  4:3,  4;  also 
I  Corinthians  15:39. 

81.  The  idea  of  evil  is  not  to  be  discovered  primarily  in  the  use  of  the 
term  <rap£,  but  in  the  idea  of  salvation  which  calls  for  t:.e  use  of  the  word. 

82.  Eomans  7:24-8:2. 

83.  Galatians  4:4;  Philippians  2:7;  Eomans  8:3. 

84.  Eomans  5:18  ff.;  II  Corinthians  5:21. 

85.  II  Corinthians  8:9;  Philippians  2:6  f. 

86.  Philippians  2:8,  9. 

87.  I  Corinthians  15:42  f. 

88.  I  Corinthians  15:20. 

89.  Eomans  8:11;  I  Corinthians  15. 

90.  Isaiah  4:2;  11:2. 

91.  Eomans  8:9. 

92.  Galatians  5:25. 

93.  Cf.  Eomans  8:9-11;  Galatians  4:6. 

94.  II  Corinthians  3:17. 

95.  Galatians  1:16. 

96.  Galatians  2:20.     Cf.  Eomans  8:10;  Galatians  3:27;  4:6,  19. 

97.  II  Corinthians  5:17;  Ephesians  4:22-24. 

98.  Colossians  3:3;  cf.  also  II  Corinthians  3:18. 

99.  Eomans  13:11. 

100.  I  Corinthians  15:35  f. 

101.  Apocalypse  of  Baruch,  chapters  50  and  51. 

102.  Eomans  6:5-11;  II  Corinthians  3:18. 

103.  The  Stoics  at  an  early  time  taught  that  all  things  were  from  the 
eternal  Logos,  though   far  removed  in  many  cases.     Yet  they  sought  the 
transforming  power  of  the  real  Logos  that  the  dross  might  be  purged  from 
their  nature.     The  Stoic  system  finally  adopted  a  bold  dualism.     Other  ex- 
planations of  the  nature  of  the  universe  entertained  the  same  variation  of 


170  QUESTS  FOE  SALVATION 

belief.  Paul  just  as  readily  acknowledged  the  divine  origin  of  all  things. 
(Romans  14:4;  I  Corinthians  10:26;  Colossians  1:16),  and  at  the  same  time 
used  the  dualism  of  evil  and  good  natures. 

104.  Of.  Galatians  5:19-25. 

105.  II  Corinthians  12:1  f. 

106.  See  E.  H.  Zaugg:  A  Genetic  Study  of  the  Spirit-Phenomena  in  the 
New  Testament.     (Private  edition,  distributed  by  the  University  of  Chicago 
Libraries,  Chicago,  1917),  chapter  4. 

107.  Eomans  10:8  f.;   Galatians  4:6;  Ephesians  3:17. 

108.  iBousset:  Kyrios  Christos,  pp.  174-180. 

109.  Eomans  3:22. 

110.  Romans  6:1  f.;  I  Corinthians  12:13;  Colossians  2:12. 

111.  See  Leitzmann's  citations,  among  others,  to  Corpus  Inscriptionum 
Graecarum  II,   2448,   Corpus   Inscriptionum   Latinarum,   VI,   10,   234;   XIII, 
5708;  XIV,  2112;  also  Lake:  The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  p.  214. 

112.  I  Corinthians  10:14  f. 

113.  I  Corinthians  10:18  f. 

114.  I  Corinthians  10:20,  21. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   TRANSFORMED   QUEST   OP  HELLENISTIC   CHRISTIANITY 

1.  For  a  detailed  statement  of  the  growth  and  expansion  of  Christian- 
ity,   consult    Harnack:    The    Mission    and    Expansion    of    Christianity,    II, 
pp.  89-306. 

2.  Cf.  II  Corinthians  12:7;  Ephesians  6:12. 

3.  Matthew  12:29. 

4.  Mark  9:38;  Acts  4:10;  8:9  f.  (Simon  seems  to  have  been  greatly  im- 
pressed  by  the  power  of  Jesus'   name);   9:34.      The  longer   conclusion   of 
Mark  lays  particular  stress  upon  the  claim  that  believers  will  be  able,  among 
other  wonders,  to  cast  out  demons,  Mark  16:17. 

5.  Matthew  7:22. 

6.  Acts  19:13  ff. 

7.  ' '  For  many  of  our  Christian  people  have  healed  a  -large  number  of 
demoniacs  throughout  the  whole  world,  and  also  in  your  own  city,  exorcizing 
them  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  who  was  crucified  under  Pontius  Pilate; 
yet  all  other  exorcists,  magicians,  and  dealers  in  drugs  failed  to  heal  such 
people.     Yea,  and  such  Christians  continue  still  to  heal  them,  by  rendering 
the   demons  impotent   and  expelling  them   from  the   men  whom  they  pos- 
sessed."   Justin  Martyr:  Apology  II.  6.  Cf.  also  Dialog  85. 

8.  Irenaeus:  Heresies  2.  31.  2. 

9.  Cf.  Tertullian:  Apology,  chapter  22  ff. 

10.  Tatian:  Oratio  ad  Graecos,  chapters  7-18. 

11.  For  further  discussion  see  Harnack:   The  Mission  and  Expansion 
of  Christianity,  I,  pp.  125-146. 

12.  The  imputation  of  magical  power  to  Paul  by  Acts  is  not  pertinent 
here.    Acts  19:11,  12. 

13.  Of.  Luke  11:24-26. 

14.  Mark  5:25-34. 

15.  Mark  3:10;  Luke  6:19. 

16.  Acts  1:8;  cf.  also  Luke  24:49. 


IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  171 

17.  Cf.  Matthew  18:10;  Hebrews  1:7,  14;  also  Psalm  91:11;  Tobit  5:4, 
16;  Luke  16:22;  Acts  12:15;  Eevelation  1:20. 

18.  Hermas:  Mandates  6,  chapter  2:1-6. 

19.  Eomans  12:1  f.  Paul  here  adopts  the  typical  Stoic  attitude  toward 
government. 

20.  I   Corinthians    12:13;    Eomans    10:12;    Galatians   3:28;    Colossians 
3 :11. 

21.  Apocalypse  of  Peter,  Barnabas   (15);   Hermas,  Papias   (Eusebius: 
Church   History  3.39);   Justin  Martyr,    (Dialog   80   f.);   Irenaeus    (Heresies 
5.  33  ff.)     Even  in  the  Gospel  of  John,  which  has  an  especially  bitter  feeling 
toward  the  Jews,  the  earlier  tradition  of  Jewish  Christianity  is  not  elimi- 
nated.    " Salvation  is  from  the  Jews",  chapter  4:22.     In  chapter  6:15  the 
inference  is  that  some  of  Jesus'  admirers  sought  to  make  him  earthly  king 
of  the  Jews. 

22.  John  18:33  f. 

23.  John  17:14-16. 

24.  Others  than  these  entertained  hopes  of  a  Golden  Age,  but  at  this 
time,  such  a  belief  was  not  characteristic  of  Gentile  religions  as  it  had  been 
in  Judaism  and  primitive  Christianity.     Cf.  Case:  The  Millenial  Hope. 

25.  John  7:37-52;  10:23-39. 

26.  John  12:24,  32. 

27.  John  10:16. 

28.  John  3:16. 

29.  Philippians  3:20. 

30.  Hebrews  1:14;  4:16;  8:8  f.;  10:16  f.;  13:21. 

31.  Hebrews  10:29;  13:20. 

32.  Hebrews  7:25. 

33.  James  1:25;  2:8,  12. 

34.  James  1:27.     Other  New  Testament  books  present  Christian  life  in 
terms  of  law,  though  with  varying  degrees  of  emphasis. 

35.  Much  of  the  philosophic  as  well  as  the  religious  speculation  which 
was  prevalent  in  the  Mediterranean  world  was  by  no  means  of  Greek  origin. 
The  influence  of  Oriental  life  was  very  marked  after  the  decline  of  classic 
culture.     The  terms  Graeeo-Eoman  and  Hellenistic  are  intended  to  indicate 
not  the  origin  of  any  belief,  but  the  whole  complex  in  which  many  phases 
of  life  and  thought  of  undifferentiated  origins  may  be  found. 

36.  I  Corinthians  2:1  f.  (The  formal  speech  recorded  in  Acts  17,  bears 
no  convincing  marks  of  being  Pauline.) 

37.  I  Corinthians  12:8,  9;  cf.  also  Colossians  2:3,  9. 

38.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  metaphysics  of  Stoicism  is  similar  in 
effect.     The   divine   Logos  is  the  ultimate  source,  from  which  emanations 
went   out,  which  finally  resulted  in  material  creation.     Both  systems  had 
dualistic  tendencies  which  asserted  themselves  in  time. 

39.  II   Timothy   2:17,   18   refers  to   two   teachers  who   said  that   the 
resurrection  was  already  past.     They  probably  were  Gnostics  who  had  come 
into  contact  with  the  church. 

40.  John  20:19-29. 

41.  John  1:14. 

42.  Ignatius:  Trallians  9;  8myrnians  1-3. 

43.  Irenaeus:  Heresies  5.  1,  et  passim. 

44.  John  3:36. 

45.  John  8:32;  et  passim. 

46.  John  1:10. 

47.  John  3:18. 

48.  John  5:25. 

49.  For  further  discussion   of  the   relationship  of  the  FoLTth  Gospel 
to  Gnosticism,  see  E.  F.  Scott:  The  Fourth  Gospel,  its  Purpose  and  Theology, 
particularly  pp.  86  ff. 


172  QUESTS  FOR  SALVATION 

50.  Cf.  Justin  Martyr:  Dialog  1  ff. 

51.  John  3:3  f. 

52.  John  19:34.   . 

53.  John  6:26  f. 

54.  Ignatius:  Ephesians  11. 

55.  Ignatius:  Eomans  7. 

56.  Justin  Martyr:  Apology  61;  66;  Dialog  14. 

57.  Irenaeus:  Heresies  1.  21.  1. 

58.  Irenaeus:  Heresies  5.  2.  2  and  3. 

59.  See    Harnack:    The    Mission    and   Expansion    of    Christianity,    II, 
pp.  33-84. 

60.  Cf.  also  Justin  Martyr:  Dialog,  chapter  1  f. 


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